A Close Shave
by PhantomGypsy13
Summary: After fifteen years locked away under a false charge, Sweeney Todd has returned to London to get his revenge on Judge Turpin. Among his partners in crime is a girl named Annabel Lee, but not all is as it seems since she is hiding secrets of her own, including a unique bloodlust that only Sweeney Todd can satisfy.
1. No Place Like London

There's no place like London. That's what Benjamin Barker thought when he saw those retched buildings after fifteen years of imprisonment in Australia for a crime he did not commit. These buildings once were a sign of sophistication and elegance that he used to love. He would go around these streets everyday with his wife and child, but now these buildings were full of painful and bitter memories. Unfortunately, Benjamin Barker will never return here, but Sweeney Todd will.

"Mr. Todd? Is everything all right," a young man by the name of Antony asked the man. Todd finally snapped out of his thoughts and back into reality. Unfortunately, he was still on his way to the London port, but things will be different this time if it's the last thing he'll do.

"You are young and life has been kind to you. You will learn," Todd said to Antony before returning back to his thoughts. He kept staring at the city, thinking of all the corruption, despair, and pain that inhabit it and those who are privileged fuel those miseries. Out of all the places he has been to around the world, this kind of suffering was at its worst in London. How he hated it so.

Once they arrived, they walked down the dark and lonely streets that were filled with poor and drunken men who were at their absolute worse and women either begging for love, money, or even both. Though these streets were filled with wretched people and shadows, in a way, it felt like home. This was where he had a living, a family, and a barbershop, but it was all taken away by one bastard of a man.

"Shall I be seeing you around, Mr. Todd?" Anthony said with enthusiasm. Despite how secluded his traveling partner was all this time, he still viewed him as a friend. He was glad that he found him at Australia, walking by the harbor for a ship that would take him.

Sweeney looked at him with a troubled face, but said, "Maybe. I should have a barbershop on Fleet Street, that is, if it's still there,"

"If you don't mind me asking, how come you came back here? Our whole trip here, you told me how much you hated this place. By the way you describe London, I would avoid this place as much as possible, so why return?"

He looked at him. He did not like telling a stranger his past, but he's not exactly a stranger. They have sailed all this way to London and they have talked before, but not very much. What would be the harm in telling him his past? He might not even see the lad again. "There was a barber and his wife. She was beautiful and he was naive. There was another man who sought the wife, a covetous man who wanted her for himself. He sent the barber away on a false charge. Without the barber, he would have a chance to beguile the wife,"

"Did the lady . . . succumb?" Anthony said, trying to piece together the story.

"Oh, that was many years ago. I doubt if anyone would know," Sweeney said, almost shedding a tear.

There was silence between them, but Anthony broke it, saying, "Till then, my friend, I shall see you some time in your barbershop on Fleet Street." He held out his hand to shake the broken man's hand, but Todd just walked away.

On the way to his barbershop, Sweeney Todd kept saying to himself over and over again, "There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and the vermin of the world inhabit it and its morals aren't worth what a pig could spit and it goes by the name of London. At the top of the hole sit a privilege few making mock of the vermin in the lower zoo turning beauty into filth and greed."

After a good walk, Sweeney Todd was able to find Fleet Street, but he was surprised to see what was underneath the shop. The sign said "Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies". He had to check it out. He opened the door and . . .

A woman gasped. "A customer! Wait! Please have a seat! Would you like a pie or maybe some ale? Sorry if I'm a little on edge. I haven't had a customer in weeks. I wouldn't blame them because these are the worst pies in London!" she said as quickly as she could. She gave him what looked like a meat pie, but it was all crusting, looked moldy, and was hard as a rock, but despite all that, he still took a bite, only to spit it out when she wasn't looking. He looked around the little shop. The place was in dire need of a cleaning. There was dust everywhere, bugs all over the place, including the tables and counter where she made the pies, and cobwebs were at every crevice, but at least the owner was nice. "Isn't that just disgusting? Even with some ale, it doesn't taste any better. Here, try some," she said while handing him a mug. He took a sip and even the ale tasted terribly. "My name is Mrs. Lovett by the way. Just like the sign says outside, but nobody bothers to look. They just see my meat pies and leave,"

Out of the blue, the door opens and a young lady pops in, out of breath. "Sorry I'm late. I overslept,"

"Usually, I wouldn't be on your case, but for once, you're late at a bad time. We finally have a customer," Mrs. Lovett said gesturing to Todd.

She looked at him with glee. "Oh, a customer! I haven't seen any in a long, long time. Are you satisfied with your food, sir?" she asked. Todd only stared at her. She had silky brunette hair and gorgeous brown eyes that shined with wonder. Her smile lightened the dusty and poorly lit room. Her fair skin glowed with the skimpy sunlight outside. Her maroon, slightly slim dress emphasized her curves. She reminded him of the woman he lost so long ago. She was beautiful. "Excuse me, sir! I asked you a question. The polite thing to do is answer! Are you satisfied?"

"Y-yes, I'm . . . satisfied," he said hesitantly. The lady grabbed herself a bottle of ale and a mug from the counter and sat at another table, pouring herself some and drinking it. Her face showed disgust, but she still poured herself more. She put her hand on her face to wipe away sleep.

"I had the worst dream that I was working for Judge Turpin again, but he was more sinister than ever. I couldn't go back to sleep until the wee hours of the morning," she said. She looked at Sweeney and his face changed drastically. His eyes were filled with rage and his frown kept shaking with tension. His hand was formed into a shaky fist.

He finally snapped. He walked towards the lady and pushed her against her seat. "You work for that fucking man?!" he yelled.

"Sir, she ran away from him when she was ten. She didn't want to work for him in the first place," Mrs. Lovett said, trying to pull him away from her apprentice.

"It's true, sir. I witnessed something a child should have never witnessed and ran away. I hate that Judge Turpin with all my soul and wish he could die," she said in fear for her life. He looked deeply into her eyes and couldn't find a sign of dishonesty. She was telling the truth and what a statement to confess. She hates Judge Turpin as much as he did, which put a smile on his face. He let her go and she immediately got up from her seat. "You must hate that bastard too," she said, catching her breath.

"Yes. He ruined my life and destroyed my family. He fucking deserves a lifetime of pain, not admiration from his fearful followers!" he said furiously.

"I never thought I would ever meet a person with the same amount of hate as me. My name's Annabel Lee. What's yours?"

"Todd. Sweeney Todd," he said as calmly as he could. Mrs. Lovett's eyes widened a bit widens at the sound of his name. He's not the same man she remembered.

"Well, Sweeney Todd, nice to meet you. Please, would you like . . . another pie?" Annabel said hesitantly. Even she knows how bad the pies were and was always hesitant to give a customer a pie. He shook his head. "We have some gin in the back room. Mrs. Lovett, do you mind if I bring him back there to get some?"

"S-sure, that is if he doesn't mind," she said, but before she could finish, Annabel directed him to the back room.

When they arrive, Annabel grabbed some gin out of a cabinet and handed it to him. He poured some into three cups and handed two cups to the ladies. Mrs. Lovett declined, but Annabel took both cups and drank them down quickly. "So, Todd, what brings you to this pie shop? I'm sure people have told you to avoid this place as much as possible,"

"I'm here to see the barbershop upstairs. Is anyone still there?" he said out of curiosity.

Mrs. Lovett and Annabel look at each other and then looked at him with troubled faces. "Haven't you heard? That place is said to be haunted. Something bad happened up there. Even if we tried to sell it, no one would take it," Annabel said.

"There was a barber and his wife. He was beautiful, but a man sent him away for life. His name was Benjamin Barker,"

"And what was his crime?" Todd asked.

"Foolishness," Annabel said. She heard this story many times before from Mrs. Lovett.

"He had a pretty wife, but a judge wanted her like mad. After sending the barber away, he would send her flowers, but she wasn't moved. She would still cry for hours. Poor thing, but this wasn't the end of her suffering,"

"What happened to her?" he asked with pain in his voice.

She turned towards Annabel who looked like she was going to cry at any minute. Mrs. Lovett gestured her to continue the story, but she shook her head. "I don't want to say it," she said with a shaky voice.

"You know it's bad luck to not finish a ghost story,"

"But this isn't a ghost story. It actually happened and I was there to witness it,"

"Please Annabel. I would like to know," he said as sweetly as he could.

Annabel took a deep breath. "One night, I heard the judge tell his lackey that he wanted to apologize for his heinous crime and sent him to get her to his house that night. While that was going on, he planned a masquerade ball for the enjoyment of all. Everyone was wearing masks to hide their faces including the judge's own mistakes. I was serving drinks when I saw her walk in all alone, looking for Judge Turpin. She was nervous and took some of my drinks and poured them down her throat. She lied on a couch, all drunk and weak, and the judge saw her, poor thing. I saw him go on top of her while everyone else laughed at her. For a child, it was a horrible thing to see, even though I didn't know the full meaning. I put down my tray and ran away, even though Beadle was chasing me. I found my way through the streets and escaped." She finally started sobbing and Mrs. Lovett comforted her. "Poor thing," she whispered.

Todd only stood, overwhelmed by what he just heard. All this happened to his sweet Lucy. His wife! How could they have done such terrible things to her? And that fucking Judge Turpin will never be forgiven. He deserves to die. "Did anyone show her mercy?"

"So it is you, Benjamin Barker," Mrs. Lovett said, fully knowing her assumption was correct. Annabel looked at her with confusion, but looked at Sweeney Todd's face that had pain written all over it from the story she told. This was the man who lost his wife and child so long ago.

"Where's my wife?" he asked.

"She poisoned herself with arsenic. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. Judge Turpin has your daughter now. He took her under his care as his ward," Mrs. Lovett said with regret.

"To think that I would come back home after fifteen years to see my wife and child, but that bastard has stolen everything from me!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Barker-," Annabel said.

"No, that man is dead. It's Sweeney Todd now and he will have his revenge!"

They all headed upstairs and Mrs. Lovett opened the door to find a room even dustier than the shop downstairs. In fact, the room needed a total makeover to return it back to its former glory. There was a crib in the room under a blanket, but there was rust from being neglected for fifteen years. Sweeney Todd picked up the blanket and revealed a doll inside that would have belonged to his daughter if Judge Turpin did not interfere with their lives. Annabel saw his distraught face and wanted to give him a hug, but kept her distance after his attack towards her downstairs. She walked around and noticed a broken mirror leaning against the wall. The cracks in it seemed to come from a person breaking it on purpose, whether it was a fist or another object. She looked at herself and did not like what she saw: a broken girl. She quickly turned away, grabbed her silver flask from her pocket, and swallowed down a good amount of gin.

Mrs. Lovett crouched down to the floor and knocked on the wood to find a loose board. She picked it up and revealed a large cloth containing something within it. She unraveled it to show a beautifully carved box. Todd knew what it was and crouched toward the box too. She handed it over to him and said, "When he came for the girl, I hid these so nobody would find them." He opened the box and inside were seven beautifully made silver razors. They were all in awe with the beauty they held. Todd grabbed one of them and held it up to the light.

"These are my friends. How I've longed to see them again. They were locked away like me after all these years, but I've come home and we'll do wonders," Todd said in amazement. Annabel saw Mrs. Lovett's jealous face. It looked like she didn't like the fact that he valued his razors more than her, but she didn't say anything. "Soon, we will drip rubies," he said under his breath.

"Rubies, Mr. T?" Mrs. Lovett asked, but he didn't hear her.

"Leave me. Both of you. I need to be alone," he said to the women. They headed out and Mrs. Lovett closed the door behind her, hoping he'll see how much he meant to her. With them gone, he stood from the ground and with his arm outstretched and a razor in his hand, he said, "At last, my arm is complete again!"


	2. Spilling Rubies

Before she met Sweeney Todd, Annabel aimlessly walked around London, like she would normally do before she went to work. It helped her clear her mind from any troubles or even painful memories that crept back into her head. This morning, however, she walked longer than usual. The nightmare she had last night was the memory of her running away from Turpin's heinous actions toward an innocent woman. It was a memory she wished she could forget, but it always came back. Even with large amounts of alcohol, the memory never faded. "There's a hole in the world, like a great black pit. It's filled with people who are filled with shit and the vulgar of the world inhabit it," she said to herself.

She finally snapped back into reality and realized where she was. She was right in front of Judge Turpin's house. Her subconscious brought her to the place where she would never in her life dreamed of returning to. She started to run back, but noticed something unusual. A young man was staring at a young woman through the second story window of the judge's house. Annabel hid around the corner of the street to avoid watchful eyes, especially Turpin's, and watched from a distance. The man seemed to be entranced by her beauty, but the lady quickly ran off, like she was going to get caught.

"Alms for a poor woman," a beggar woman said approaching him. He gave her some alms and she thanked him.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but whose house is this," the man asked her.

"That's the great Judge Turpin's house," she answered in a raspy voice.

"And the lady that lives there?"

"Her name's Johanna. She's his pretty ward that he keeps locked up. Better stay away from her or it'll be your ass getting whipped for even looking at her," she said. She left his side and continued to beg for money.

The man walked toward a bench and collected his belongings, glancing at the window, hoping she would return. "I feel you, Johanna. I'll steal you from your master so we can be together," he said, as if he was talking to Johanna, but the only people that heard him were Annabel and someone else.

The door of the house opened and inside was ghastly figure that sent chills down Annabel's spine: Judge Turpin. He has aged a lot since the last time he saw him. When she ran away, he had brown hair of a young man, but now it's gray. He made more wrinkles on his face and his skin was a lot paler from the lack of sun. He had a wicked smile on his face and gestured the man to come in, but she knew what might happened if he did. Regardless, he walked in and the judge's face lost its smile as he checked to see if anyone was watching and closed the door behind him.

Annabel feared that the young man was in danger and carefully walked towards one of the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening inside, but she couldn't see them anywhere. She went around the side of the house to a small alley and checked one of the windows, but still couldn't see anything. She stayed there and after a while, she finally did see something. Beadle was pushing the man out with a mighty haste. She quickly ran to a corner as she saw him throw him out.

"Hyde Park is that way! Just make a left and a right and keep going straight and you'll be there. Move on now!" he yelled as he hit him with his walking cane continuously even when he tried to get up. "You heard what Judge Turpin said. Come back around these parts and your blood will be on the pavement." He left him with that warning and went back inside and rudely threw out his belongings onto his already bruised body.

When she knew that no one would see her, she went to help him out. She gave him a helping hand and he slowly, but surely got up. "Are you all right," she asked sweetly.

"Just a little bruised and bleeding, that's all," he said, trying to be cheery, but he was clearly in pain. She grabbed his things and gestured him to walk away with her. He took her hand and they walked off, but not unseen. Through the second story window, Judge Turpin saw them both leaving, but he was in utter shock to see the woman that helped him. The little girl that ran away before has finally come back to him, but was helping the wrong man. She was very beautiful now that she has grown, he thought in his mind. She was under his care for three years after her parents were executed for murder and was a very rowdy child that would not listen to him for the longest time. Nonetheless, she has grown to a woman that he would lust for, but he didn't want to be the one chasing her. He has Johanna, but having Annabel around as well wouldn't be bad.

* * *

"What did that Judge Turpin say to you?" Annabel said some streets away from the house. They were sitting on a bench at a nearby park and she was wiping the blood off his face with a wet rag.

"He saw me looking at his ward and threatened to kill me if I did it again. If you ask me, he was overreacting. How could anyone resist not looking at such beauty?" he said as he felt the cool rag hit his face.

"Still, you should be more careful. A man like him has a lot of power and he could use it for the wrong reasons." She wiped the blood from his forehead and could see the open wound. She took out her flask and poured some gin onto his wound. He winced in pain. "Relax, dearie. The alcohol will make sure it won't get infected," she said as a mother would to a crying child.

"Well, even if he tries to kill me, I will steal Johanna away from him. She doesn't deserve to be locked away in that prison of a house. We locked eyes and I know that we were meant to be together," he said with hopeless romance in his voice.

Annabel rolled her eyes. "You really believe in love at first sight," she said with disbelief. He nodded, but she didn't want to say anything to upset him.

After she cleaned his face from the liquor, he introduced himself. "My name is Antony. I'm a sailor and traveled all over the world, but now, I've seen the greatest wonder of them all: Johanna."

She sighed in annoyance. "My name's Annabel Lee and I work on Fleet Street in Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop," she said, trying to mock his enthusiastic tone, but he didn't catch on to the joke.

"Fleet Street? Do you know a man by the name of Sweeney Todd by any chance?"

"No I don't. Why?"

"Today we arrived in London together and we have become friends throughout our voyage. Maybe I can ask him for help to rescue Johanna," he said as he was heading towards Fleet Street, but she stopped him.

"Antony, how do you know he's going to help you? You both have only been here for less than a day and maybe he'll want to focus on finding a home or a job. You might not be his priority," she said. He looked at her with a sullen face that made her feel guilty inside. "However, I've worked for that fucking man when I was a little girl. Maybe I can help you get her. After all, he shouldn't have any ill feelings towards me."

"You would do that for a stranger like me," he asked with hope. She nodded. He thanked her and gave her a tight hug, which made her very uncomfortable. Even more awkward was the duration of the hug.

"Ok, Antony. You can let me go now!" she said honestly, but a little rudely. He apologized and let her go. "I'll help, but you have to promise to not to tell anyone I'm helping you," she said.

"All right," he said. They exchanged farewells and he left her side, not towards Fleet Street, but the opposite direction. She sighed with relief, but realized what she got herself into.

"Shit, what have I done? How am I going to steal a girl without Judge Turpin seeing me?" She looked around the park and started heading towards Fleet Street, hoping Mrs. Lovett would know how to get her out of this sticky situation. In the distance, she heard the bells of a church ringing for eight o'clock and she knew she was late for work. "Shit," she said before running to work.

* * *

The next day, Sweeney Todd, Mrs. Lovett, and Annabel went to the marketplace to buy some things for her pie shop and the barbershop upstairs, but also to see who people call the best barber in London. There were rows and rows of food that people were trying to sell and buy. The place wasn't the cleanest, but at least it was a big enough venue to host such a business. There, they saw an empty stage with posters advertising "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir". Mrs. Lovett said there would be a show today and Todd had to be there to see it. They all stood by waiting for the show to start, but they all saw someone that made their blood boil: Beadle Bamford. He was walking around the marketplace for some food for his master. They all stared, but Annabel kept some distance away from them, just in case Beadle saw them, but he wouldn't be able to see her. Todd was ready to pounce at him with his razors, but Mrs. Lovett held him back to avoid any setbacks that could foil his plan.

Suddenly, a little blonde boy came out of the curtains with a drum in his hands and started beating it to alert everyone of the wonder that was going to be shown to them. "Ladies and gentleman may I have your attention please? Do you wake up in the morning to find your hair falling out of your head? Well, now ladies and gentleman, you won't have to worry about anything like that anymore because of Pirelli's Miracle Elixir! It will get the hairs stimulating and in no time at all, you will get a head full of hair like mine," the boy advertised as he showed everyone his gorgeous long blonde hair that was tucked underneath his hat. He then handed people a bottle and continued to advertise this "amazing" product.

However, as a bottle was being passed around, a foul stench was surrounding the area and Todd and Mrs. Lovett smelled it. "What's that awful stench?" Todd asked. Despite the overwhelming smell, the boy tried desperately to sell the product. Todd grabbed a bottle and took a whiff. "What the hell is this? Smells like piss. It _is_ piss with some ink,"

"Try Pirelli's Miracle Elixir and ladies will love you," the boy said.

"Flies will too," Mrs. Lovett said.

All of the sudden, a man in a colorful costume came out of the curtains and said in Italian anger, "I am Adolfo Pirelli and I want to see the person who has the nerve to say that my elixir is piss!"

"That would be I," Todd said and the whole crowd, including Pirelli, stared at his bravery. "I'm Sweeney Todd of Fleet Street and I must say that your elixir is just a shameful scam concocted from piss and ink. I wager five pounds that I can shave a man's face ten times faster and better than you can with these razors," he said as he showed Pirelli and everyone else his silver razors. "A match you cannot win. Either you can accept my challenge or reveal your fraud to everyone here today,"

Pirelli laughed. "What a foolish man. You will regret your wager against Adolfo Pirelli for I will surely win. Toby! Come here!" Toby ran up to the stage and quickly set up the contest with Pirelli hardly moving a muscle.

"Who would like a free shave," Sweeney Todd asked and all the men in the crowd shouted, hoping that they would be selected. Eventually, two men were brought onto the stage. "Will Beadle Bamford be willing to judge the contest?" he said to his enemy in the back of the crowd.

"Gladly," he responded to Todd. Annabel was glad he was away, but now, he was at an elevated height so that he would be able to see her if he looked into the crowd. She hid behind some tall men and pretended to be buying some fruit, but still watching the contest. He walked up to the steps of the stage and announced, "The barber who makes the fastest, but smoothest shave wins." He blew his whistle and the contest started.

Pirelli kept looking at his adversary and thought very little of him. He sharpened his knife faster than Todd, even if it was cutting into Toby's young skin. Despite all the painful groaning, he didn't care about anything other than winning. He started shaving the man's face with as much care as possible while Toby cleaned the razor. Todd was only lathering shaving cream on his man when Pirelli was almost halfway done with his. He started getting cocky and told jokes while he was shaving, but before he knew it, Sweeney Todd had already finished shaving the stubble off the man.

"The winner is Todd," Beadle announced and the crowd cheered. Pirelli looked at him in shock and then anger. Annabel clapped when she heard the news, but made sure not to be conspicuous.

"I must give respect to a man with skills far better than my own," Pirelli said with sarcasm, but Todd put out his hand for the five pounds he owed. He gave him the money hesitantly and continued, "Until we meet again." He yelled at his boy to move, but slapped him on the cheek before Toby had any warning. He pushed him into the curtains and people could hear him beat the boy savagely.

"It may just be my meek heart, but I don't like seeing a boy treated so cruelly," Mrs. Lovett said, but Sweeney headed towards Beadle while she advertised his barbershop to the curious men all around.

"I thank you for judging our little contest," Sweeney said with a lying tone that was well hidden.

"Well, I always try to do well for my friends and neighbors. You said your shop was at Fleet Street, correct?" Beadle said.

"Yes sir,"

"Well, Mr. Todd, you will surely see me there," he said with a wicked smile.

"You will be welcomed and I assure you that I'll happily give you a shave at no charge as gratitude. The closest shave you will ever know," he said with a layer of villainy. Beadle tipped his hat and walked away, leaving Todd to think of all the things he would do to him with his razor.

While walking by, Beadle noticed a woman with brunette hair buying some fresh fruit, but she looked awfully familiar. She was looking at Sweeney Todd and then looked down, but in some time, she looked around, as if searching for someone. Then, they locked eyes and he knew exactly who she was. "Hey, you there," he yelled at Annabel, but she pretended like she didn't see him. "Young lady, come here," he said advancing towards her, but she quickly ran away before he could approach her.

* * *

"It's not much of a chair, but it'll do," Mrs. Lovett said to Sweeney Todd, who was staring out his window and sharpening his razors. "It was my poor Albert's chair. He would sit in it all day,"

"Why hasn't he come? He said he would be here," he said with hostility.

"He'll come, I'm sure of it," Annabel said, still a little shaken that he saw her.

"And if he fucking doesn't," Todd said.

"Hush, love. Don't stress yourself too much. You need to keep your mind sharp when he does comes," she said to try to soothe his anger.

"Y'know, some flowers might brighten up the room a bit. After all, a welcoming environment brings in more customers," Annabel said trying to change the subject, but to no avail.

"And what about the judge? When can I fucking kill him?"

"Just wait, love. He'll come too, but if you keep brooding like that, he might know what's up. Plus, most of the fun is all in the planning," Mrs. Lovett said.

Suddenly, they all heard footsteps outside and Todd hid next to the door. The door opened and in came Antony. "Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he said.

"You don't need to call me 'ma'am'. I'm Mrs. Lovett and this young lady is Annabel Lee," she said. He gave her a smile and she returned one to him.

He looked around and saw Todd hiding behind the door. "Oh, Mr. Todd, I need your help. There's a lonely, but beautiful girl who needs my help," he quickly said to him, but he guided him to the chair.

"I thought I told you I would help you," Annabel said in distraught. Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett stared at her in confusion. She forgot to tell them about her little mission.

"I couldn't wait any longer and I might as well ask Mr. Todd for his help too," he said to her and then looked back at Sweeney. "There's a girl named Johanna who has a guardian named Judge Turpin who keeps her locked up in his house, but today, she threw down this key. It's a sign that she wants me to help her. When he goes to the courthouse, I plan to sneak into his house and get Johanna to run away with me. However, I need a safe place to hide her until I get a carriage to take us away from here and since you and Annabel are the only people I know in London, maybe I can bring her here?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Annabel said. She was always a skeptic, but this sounded like a delusional child's plan to get a cookie out of a jar without getting caught.

"Please Mr. Todd, I beg of you!" I'll be forever in your debt," Antony said. Despite Annabel's input, Todd still nodded his head. "Thank you so much my friend," he said as he left the room with glee.

"Well, now after all these years, you can finally be reunited with your daughter," Mrs. Lovett said with a bit of glee.

"And the boy?" he asked.

"You don't like him? Well, if you don't, he might be a great throat to practice slitting on," she said.

Annabel looked at her with surprise. "Are you saying we should kill Antony? All he wanted was to make a friend and get the girl of his dreams. I don't think slitting his throat is a good way of saying thank you."

It took a while for the women to realize that he was looking out the window the whole time Annabel was talking. They too looked and saw familiar faces; Mr. Pirelli and Toby were walking towards the shop. "What are they doing here?" Mrs. Lovett asked rhetorically.

"You two distract the boy and keep him downstairs. I'll handle Pirelli," he said. The women went downstairs and met them before they could intrude.

"Excuse me, but is Mr. Todd here," Pirelli said in annoyance.

"Yes, he's upstairs patiently waiting for a customer," Annabel said.

"You wouldn't mind if I gave your boy here a meat pie from my shop," Mrs. Lovett said, trying desperately to keep him downstairs.

"Whatever you want to do with him is fine with me," he said as he headed upstairs, pushing the women out of his way.

They went inside the shop and Mrs. Lovett told the boy to sit down while she fetched him a meat pie. He sat at a table and Annabel sat right next to him, blocking him if he tried to leave so suddenly. Soon enough, she served him a not-so-fresh meat pie on a plate and handed it to him. He grabbed it and immediately started eating, not caring about the horrible taste. "My, don't you have an appetite," Mrs. Lovett said in wonder. "No one has eaten my pies that fast since my poor Albert died, though, he didn't have a nice head of hair like yours."

"Forgive me, ma'am, but this isn't even my real hair," Toby said as he pulled off the blonde wig to reveal short brown hair. They were only party shocked to learn the truth, but after the commotion they caused the other day at the marketplace, it didn't come as a complete shock to them.

Suddenly, they heard a thump from upstairs, but the women acted like they didn't hear a thing. "So, how did you end up with that Italian fellow? He doesn't seem to be very nice to you,"

"He got me from the workhouse. Without him, I would still be there or maybe work at a factory or something worse," he said as if he saved his life. Annabel thought about what he said and thought that she too would be there if she didn't find Mrs. Lovett when she did. She would probably be working for a man maybe even worse than Pirelli or Judge Turpin. "Oh god. He is going be late for his appointment with his tailor. If he's late, he'll beat me for sure," he said trying to leave the booth. They tried hard to block him, but he wiggled his way through them and head out the door.

"Wait!" Mrs. Lovett said, but he was already out. Annabel ran to get him back downstairs, but by the time she was out, he was at the top of the steps.

He opened the door and shouted, "Mr. Pirelli!" He looked around, but saw that he was nowhere to be seen. Only Sweeney Todd was there.

"Mr. Pirelli had to leave suddenly. You should follow him," he said calmly.

"No sir. He told me that if he leaves to go anywhere, I must stay where I am or I'll get a lashing," Toby said as he walked backwards towards a trunk.

Annabel ran to the door and said out of breath, "Toby, you need to come back downstairs." However, she looked around and saw that Pirelli wasn't there, but noticed that the trunk Toby was leaning against had a twitching hand sticking out. "I bet you still have room in your stomach for another meat pie. I'll tell Mrs. Lovett to make one just for you."

Toby shook with head with a might. Despite how fast he was eating it before, he did not like the taste he had to endure. "No, I should stay here. Maybe he'll come back," he said.

"Tell you what. You tell Mrs. Lovett that I said to give you a shot of gin," Sweeney Todd said.

"Really? Thank you, sir!" Toby said as he quickly ran down the stairs.

Annabel looked at him with scolding eyes. "I don't encourage children to drink, but I'll let this one slide," she said as she left the room. She closed the door and saw that Toby had no problem going back into the shop. He must really like gin. In her mind she wondered what was in the trunk. Pirelli? Why would he be there? Did he say something to Sweeney that made him angry? Is he dead? She thought of all these questions and needed answers.

She entered the room, only to witness a horrific sight. Sweeney was slitting Pirelli's throat with his shiny razor. Blood was pouring out of his throat like a fountain onto the floor and inside the trunk. He was shaking from blood loss until he finally crouched into the trunk and died. Todd looked at Annabel and she had her mouth covered with shock. He was sure that she was going to scream or something that would warrant killing her, but he heard an unnerving noise. She was laughing. She uncovered her mouth and he saw a sadistic smile on her face, "Haven't seen a good murder like that in a long time," she said as she came closer to the body. She saw all the blood that was still pouring out of his throat little by little and she paced the floor, as if debating something. Finally, she came to a conclusion. "May I?"

"May you what?" Todd asked, but she didn't hear him. She took out a flask from her pocket and took a sip before pouring out the rest of the liquor onto the floor. She then put the flask in the trunk to pick up blood from the puddle inside, even squeezing the dead man's throat for more. She pulled it out and cleaned the flask with a nearby rag and did something that shocked him greatly: she took a sip from the flask. "Ah, I haven't had human blood in a very long time."


	3. Man Eating Man

After a long day at work, Judge Turpin was walking from the courthouse to his home where Johanna should be waiting for him. In the back of his mind, he feared that idiot sailor boy would try to steal her while he was away; a thought he would hate to see turn into reality. Another thought that crossed his mind was the girl that helped that wretched boy in his alley. Annabel Lee was her name and it's been an awfully long time since he has seen her. Ever since she fled from him fifteen years ago, she has always been elusive whenever he or Beadle would try to find her to the point where they just gave up the search for her.

"Another good trial, might I say, your Honor!" Beadle said to him out of the blue. Turpin was startled, but regained his composure. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I was just thinking. Come, my friend, I have news for you," he said hastily to his lackey as they walked further, "After a long and calculated debate, I have decided to marry Johanna,"

"Ah, terrific news, sir," Beadle said with ecstasy.

"Strangely though, when I proposed to her, she seemed . . . reluctant,"

"Excuse me, my lord, but I believe that the reason why she was reluctant was because you are . . . well, not looking your best. There's stubble on your cheek, which doesn't impress the ladies," Beadle said as politely, but honestly as he could.

"Stubble?" Turpin said as he looked at his reflection on a glaring window. "Perhaps I have been a little busy lately,"

"Fret not, I know a place. A barber of great skill by the name of Sweeney Todd will get you all cleaned up. He'll make you look your best and you'll have Johanna begging for you to marry her," Beadle said, almost advertising the shop he has not gone to yet.

"A barber? Take me to him," he said with pleasure.

"Oh and one more thing. You will not believe who I saw the other day,"

"Who?"

"Your former ward, Annabel Lee, and might I say, she has grown into quite a lady," Beadle said with a little mischief, not noticing the scolding look Turpin gave him.

"Really? Where was she?" he asked, acting surprised.

"I was judging a little barber contest at the marketplace when I spotted her buying some fruit from a grocer. We locked eye contact, but before I could speak to her, she ran. She has always been good at that,"

"She certainly has. What does she look like now? Any drastic changes?"

"Well, despite her now woman body, she still has that child-like face that I could easily recognize. Her skin was free from blemish and less pale than before. Her hair was no longer in a bun and I could see its luscious beauty. Her bosom was in good view. My lord, with a chest like she had, she could grab the attention of any man in no time flat," Beadle said before noticing Turpin's stare looking straight into his soul.

"Well, she definitely sounds beautiful. Do you know by any chance where she lives?" Turpin said, now desperately wanting to see her again.

"Unfortunately, I don't, but I did notice that she was looking at Sweeney Todd when I spotted her. Maybe he knows," he said, trying to be hopeful.

"Well, since I'm on the way, I shall ask him," he said, trying to hold in his anger. How dare he shamelessly talk about her beauty, bosom and all, without expecting him to get furious at him? Turpin saw her beauty first hand and has lusted for her ever since, but hearing those juicy descriptions from another man sickened him. If another man so much as looked at her with ogling eyes, he would have sent that man somewhere far away.

"Do you think that she might have gone back to her old way?" Beadle asked, noticing he wasn't talking to him for a while.

"Her sinful ways? I certainly hope not. We've worked hard on her so she wouldn't be caught up in her parent's sins,"

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if she went back to eating meat again, but it would be a shame if it was human meat,"

"It would be, but let's see when we see her. Thank you for the news, Beadle," Turpin said. There was no doubt about it now: he wanted Annabel more than he ever has before.

* * *

Mrs. Lovett walked in with a disgruntled look. "That boy is going to drink away all my profits. How long until Pirelli returns?"

Annabel looked at Sweeney Todd with a troubled face. "He won't be coming back," she said. Mrs. Lovett looked at her confused until she finally noticed he blood on his sleeve and gasped. Annabel guiltily took a sip from her flask.

"Mr. T, you didn't . . . did you?" Neither Sweeney nor Annabel responded. She quickly looked inside the trunk and saw the dead body with blood all over the inside of the trunk. She quickly closed the trunk with disgust and fright. "Have you gone insane? You killed a man who didn't do anything except annoy you,"

"He tried to blackmail me. He recognized me from the past and demanded half of my earnings if I wanted my secret to be safe. He was threatening the wrong person," he said nonchalantly.

She calmed down a bit and said, "Well, that's different then," she said as she opened the trunk again, now a little desensitized of the dead body. She checked his pockets and found the money pouch and pocketed it for herself. "What are we going to do about the boy?"

"Send him up," he said.

"Mr. T, don't you think one murder is good enough for one day? He's only a child and he won't tell anyone if he doesn't find out. Besides, I was thinking of hiring him to help around the shop," Mrs. Lovett said, trying to save his life. She looked at Annabel who was again sipping out of her flask. "Mind if I have a sip to calm down my nerves?"

"I don't think that's-," she said, but before she could finish, Mrs. Lovett grabbed it and took a sip, but spat it out as quickly as she drank it.

"What the fuck?! What on earth is that drink?! It takes like . . . copper, she asked with disgust and confusion. Annabel quickly took back her flask and after a few seconds, Mrs. Lovett put the pieces together. "Is that . . . blood?"

"It seems your little apprentice has an acquired taste," Sweeney Todd said.

Annabel sighed. "I'll admit it. I'm a cannibal," she said nonchalantly. They both looked at her in shock. "I have been ever since I was a child. I might still be one now if my parents weren't executed for murder and you won't believe who the judge at their trial was: Judge fucking Turpin. They were falsely accused! They didn't kill anyone, but only scavenged around London for freshly and disease-free bodies to eat. Murder victims were usually the best. One day, the police saw them carry a dead body home and they thought they murdered the chap and arrested them. I was seven when I watched them get hanged and they were going to hang me too if Judge Turpin didn't convince them to let him have me as his ward to 'save my soul'. I should be thankful for him saving my life, but he's the person who ruined it in the first place. Under his care, he tried to kick the 'devil' out of me by convincing me that what my parents were doing was evil, but I didn't listen, so he tried other ways. The only one that worked was making me a vegetarian. I don't know why, but if I didn't eat meat at all, I wouldn't be tempted to eat human flesh. When I ran away, I did start eating meat again, but not human flesh. The urge was strong though, but I managed to control myself . . . until today," she said as she looked at the trunk. "I saw the blood pouring out of his neck and the urge came back like a tidal wave and how could I resist?"

"But you're not going to eat us, right?" Mrs. Lovett said gently as if she was taming a beast.

"Oh, of course not. You two are my friends. Besides, I don't like raw meat anyway," she said with a wicked smile. "By the way, how is Toby?"

"Oh my god, I've left that poor boy alone with a bottle of gin this whole time! Can you go check on him? He drinks like a sailor and I'm afraid that if he's all alone, he'll hurt himself," Mrs. Lovett said to her.

"Will do," she said as she left the room, a little relieved to have finally told someone her secret. When she opened the door to the pie shop, she noticed that Toby was passed out drunk and slumped onto the table with a nearly empty bottle of gin in his hand. "Poor thing. Let's get you somewhere less harmful to your back," she said like any mother would. She picked him up and carefully placed him in the back room. She put some pillows down on the floor to make a little bed and set him on them.

She went into the main room and saw Mrs. Lovett quickly walk in with a terrified look on her face. "Judge Turpin's here. Hide behind the counter," she whispered. With a terrified haste, Annabel quickly did as she was told and hid behind the counter.

"That bastard is here?" Annabel whispered behind the counter. All Mrs. Lovett did was nod when they heard his loud footsteps go up the stairs. They hoped that Sweeney was ready for this chance. When they heard the door open and close in the barbershop, they looked around for Beadle, but luckily, he wasn't around.

She carefully walked to the back door, but Mrs. Lovett said, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I want to get a good view when he kills that bastard," was all Annabel said before she left the room and quietly went upstairs. She walked to the door and put her ear on it to hear what was going on inside.

* * *

"I'm here for a shave, Mr. Todd and Beadle tells me you are the best in the business. There is a woman I'm in love with and a shave and maybe some cologne will surely sweep her off her feet,"

"Then I'll happily give you a seductive look, Judge Turpin. After all, women are fascinating creatures. A man is weak when they are around such beauty, right, sir?"

"Indeed. They are pretty women and oh so hard to resist. Even harder is when you see them as a child and they grow up to be beautiful ladies,"

"Is that so, sir? If you don't mind me asking, who is this lady you are trying to woo?"

Judge Turpin was silent for a bit, debating that question himself. "My ward. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen,"

"Pretty as her mother?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, sir. Now, may we begin?" Todd said. Through the door, she could hear the sound of the blade shaving away the hairs on his face and she was getting impatient. Cut his throat already, she thought to herself. The anxiety was killing her.

"Speaking of pretty women, Mr. Todd, do you know a girl by the name of Annabel Lee?"

"Yes. She works downstairs at the pie shop,"

"Really? May I see her?"

"Unfortunately, she's not in today. She said she was not feeling well. May I ask why you want to see her?"

"She was a former ward of mine and I haven't seen her in fifteen years. Beadle saw her recently and I would like to see what she looks like now. It's a shame she's not here today,"

"Well, sir, if you would like to see her, come by again and I'll happily reunite you two,"

"Thank you, Mr. Todd. I'd greatly appreciate it,"

* * *

She patiently waited for his death, but she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned around and saw Antony. She said in whispered panic, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I've got good news for Mr. Todd," he said cheerfully.

"He's busy right now. You'll have to-," she said before he passed her and foolishly opened the door.

"Mr. Todd, Johanna said she'll run away with me tonight," he said, but was in shock to see Judge Turpin there.

He looked at him with his blood boiling. "You! You think Johanna will elope with you?! I'll make sure that neither you nor any other man will ever see her pretty face ever again," he said while he wiped away the shaving cream on his face and threw the towel angrily at Antony. "And as for you, barber, it's clear who you are working for and on that note, I shall never set foot in your shop again!" He slammed the door and ran straight down the stairs.

Annabel was downstairs behind the counter, relieved that she left before Judge Turpin saw her. She saw him leave the shop with fury in his eyes and her blood was boiling. She heard Todd scream at Antony to leave and later saw him run down the stairs and away from the shop. Both she and Mrs. Lovett went up the stairs and into the shop. "What's all the yelling about?" Mrs. Lovett asked.

"I had him! I fucking had him! If that idiot boy didn't come in, his blood would be all over the floor. Now, he won't even come back again!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I fucking told him that I would help her escape. Now, he has limited his chances of running away with her!" Annabel said, equally as mad.

"Calm down dearies!" Mrs. Lovett said gently, but frightened at the same time. They wouldn't listen.

"There's a hole in the world like a great black pit and it's filled with people who are filled with shit and the vermin of the world inhabit it," Annabel said to herself, but loud enough that they all could hear.

"But not for long," Todd said in a low voice. They all looked at him in confusion. "They all deserve to die and I'll tell you why. There are two kinds of people in the world: the one with power and the one with the other's foot in their face. In fact, we all deserve to die. Even you, even her, even I," he said as he grabbed Mrs. Lovett and placed a razor at her throat. Annabel worried for her, but she was still in so much rage that she didn't bother to help her. "Until he comes back, I'll practice on many throats until my technique is perfect. And even though my Lucy is dead and I'll never see my daughter again, I've never felt more alive until this moment," he said as he removed the blade from her throat.

"That's nice and everything, but how are we not going to get caught? I mean, that trunk can't hold anymore dead bodies," Annabel said, pointing to the trunk.

"We can bury him when it's dark so no one will find him," he said, still in ecstasy of his epiphany.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going downstairs for a drink. You two want to come along?" Mrs. Lovett said to them. They agreed and headed down to her pie shop. When they arrived, she poured three shots for each of them. Annabel drank hers down quickly along with some blood from her flask. Mrs. Lovett, still shocked by the fact that she was a cannibal, looked at her and had an idea. "Seems an awful waste, especially with the price of meat these days, burying him would be a waste,"

"A waste?" Todd asked.

"Business needs a lift and some free meat would help a lot. For instance, Mrs. Mooney makes a good business putting pussycats into pies and selling it to customers. Maybe we should do the same,"

"You mean putting human meat into the pies? What a brilliant idea! It won't leave a trace and the pie shop can make a profit for once. After all, more men will come for a shave, so more meat supply!" Annabel said with glee. She won't be the only cannibal in London.

"It's a man eating man world out there and who are we to deny them. For the first time in human history it will be the men above serving the customers below," Todd said with cheer as well. "After all, Annabel knows her way around human meat."

She chuckled. "I may be a bit rusty, but for the most part, I do. I have to say, priest tastes best, but I'll be happy with judge." They all laughed and marveled at their sadistic, but genious idea.

* * *

Some time before the sun came down, it started to rain, but Annabel had to talk to Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd upstairs in the barbershop while Toby was cleaning the shop downstairs. After their failure at killing the judge, she thought long and hard on how to get him back. "I might have a way to bring back Judge Turpin to his fate. I was thinking I could . . . apologize for fleeing,"

"And how will that bring him back?" Todd said skeptically.

"Well, I listened to your conversation with him and heard that he is looking for me. If that's the case, apologizing might ease up his hate towards you. I have to convince him to come back somehow, whether it is for his lovely ward or something else,"

"And you know this will work?" Mrs. Lovett asked her.

"As much as I hate to admit, it's not a foolproof plan, but it's better than waiting for the slim chance that he might come back,"

They all thought about it and after a good minute, Sweeney threatened, "All right, but if anything goes wrong, I'll have your throat slit,"

"Even if you do gain his trust, I'll still need you to work here at night. I just bought a meat grinder and when it comes, I want you to grind the bodies," Mrs. Lovett said.

"All right, but I have to see him tonight. Is that all right?"

"As long as I can slit his throat, go ahead," he said. She smiled and headed out, making sure her flask filled with blood was with her.

* * *

Judge Turpin was in his living room and full of agony. He just sent his ward, Johanna, away to an asylum so no one, not even that fucking boy, would ever steal her away. It was only the right thing to do. She broke his heart and wanted to break it even more by running away with him. This was a way for her to reflect on her sins. Even worse, the boy saw Beadle take her away and chased after her, but not before threatening to kill him. What else could go wrong?

Suddenly, he heard a continuous knocking on the door. "Judge Turpin! Judge Turpin! I need to see you! Please answer," a voice yelled from outside. Who on earth could that be? It was pouring outside. Who in their right mind would try to see him at this hour? He hurriedly walked to the door and straightened his hair and clothing. He opened the door and was surprised to see who was there. "May I come in?" Annabel asked in a sweet, but sad tone. She was drenched from the rain and she didn't have an umbrella with her. She was crying, or at least the rain was giving off that illusion, and there was a little bit of blood around her mouth.

"Of course you can," he said as he invited her in. She wiped away her tears and the blood on her mouth and entered. He quickly looked for a towel and took out two from his closet. He draped a white towel on a chair and gave her another for her to wrap around her shoulders. "What is the matter, Annabel?"

"Judge Turpin, I have failed you. I've gotten back to eating human meat again," she said as she handed him her flask. He grabbed it and took a whiff. It was blood. "I saw a man get murdered in cold blood today on the streets. It was an awful sight to see, but instead of calling for help, I saw the blood pouring out of him and decided that I wanted a taste. I cut some meat off of him with a pocket knife and cooked it up and ate it. I also filled my flask with his blood and drank a good amount of it. I feel so ashamed. You have worked on me for so long and I've failed you,"

"It's all right," he said as he gave her a gentle hug. She cried on his shoulder and it broke his heart to see her like this. "Why did you come to me? After all, you ran away from me,"

She wiped away her tears again. "I'm sorry for leaving, but I was scared. I thought what you were doing to that woman at the party was a bad thing. People were laughing at her and as a child, I didn't know what you were doing, but after fifteen years, I've realized you were just making love to her. There's no crime against that," she said. He looked away for a bit, but looked back into her red, puffy eyes. If she only knew. "I came to you because you kicked that sinful habit out of me all those years ago. I thought, out of all people, you could do it again and this time, I'm willing to change."

He put his hand on her cheek like a lover would and stroked it softly. It took every ounce of her strength to not react cruelly to his gesture. "Of course I'll help you. You're still my ward after all," he said as he gave her another hug. She thought about what he said for a second and remembered what he said back at Sweeney's shop: "My ward. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"Speaking of your ward, I've heard you have a new one. Her name's Johanna, correct?"

"Y-yes," he said nervously.

"Can I meet her," she asked so sweetly that he didn't want to upset her, but he must.

"I'm afraid you can't because I've sent her away. There was this boy who was after her and I had to protect her from him and vultures like him,"

"Oh, well that's too bad. Is the boy you mentioned a sailor who recently arrived to London," she asked. He looked at her in surprise, but the next words that came out of his mouth must not reveal that he saw her that day he threatened that sailor.

"Yes. Have you met him?"

"Yes, but to be honest with you, I don't like him. It's not polite for a man to gander at a guardian's ward. I only know him because I cleaned up his wounds one time near your house. He mentioned eloping with Johanna and I told him he was crazy, but he never listened to me,"

"I'm happy to hear that even you agree with me. I just wish that she did. I'm only trying to protect her, but she was fine with breaking my heart and running away with him,"

"Don't worry. She'll see the errors of her ways and beg for forgiveness," she said sounding less sad.

He smiled. "Thank you, Annabel,"

After a moment of silence, she said, "I've heard that you came by the shop today. Is that true?"

"Yes. I went there for a shave, but Mr. Todd was working for that sailor boy. I was less than happy about that. He said you weren't feeling well and didn't show up to work today,"

"To be honest with you, I wasn't ill. The murder happened on my way to work and . . . I decided to stay home,"

"So why come to me now and not then?"

"I had to control my . . . bloodlust," she said hesitantly. "I didn't know how I would react to interacting with other people especially after eating one,"

After another moment of silence, he said, "If you want me to help you, I can offer you a servant job around the house, like you had in the past,"

"I would love too, but I already have a job at Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pie shop," she said. He had a disappointed look and she supposedly felt guilty. "However, it's not that busy during the day time. The shop is open all day and night, but since a lot of people are working for twelve hours or more, they can't come till the evening. I can convince her to let me work the night shift and then I can spend the day with you. I desperately need your help and hopefully she'll understand,"

"Are you going to tell her you're a cannibal?"

"Hell no! If I tell her, she'll send me to an asylum. I'll convince her that I need a second job to pay my rent and you've offered me one," she said with a smile.

"All right. I'm just happy to see you again and back in my home," he said with a smile, but not of innocence. His intents were far from pure.

"I'm just happy you forgave me. So, shall I see you sometime this week after I tell my boss," she asked getting up from her chair.

"Of course, take your time. I'll be waiting," he said.

"Well, I should be heading back to work. I shouldn't stay here much longer," she said as she removed the towel around her and started heading for the door.

"No, you shouldn't go out with that kind of weather. Stay here until the rain dies down," he said frantically. He just got her and didn't want to lose her again.

"Oh, I have to go to work. We're going to sell our new and tastier meat pies and she wants me to clean the shop for the grand re-opening," she said, trying desperately to convince him to let her go.

"Oh, well then. At least you can borrow an umbrella for now," he said as he escorted her out the door and took an umbrella out of a nearby closet. "Do you mind if I walk you home?"

"No, it's fine. I think it would be awkward for you to escort me, especially with the gossipy people around. What would they think if they saw you with me alone on the streets?"

"O-of course. Well then, have a good night Annabel," he said nervously.

"You too, Judge Turpin, and thank you for everything," she said as she opened the umbrella and left. After a few seconds, he checked the window to see her leave. Beadle was right: her hair was luscious under the moonlight, her skin was free from any blemish, and her bosom was marvelous. She was so beautiful that he felt something rise up in his pants. She turned around to look at the house and he quickly ran out of the window's view, but she still saw him. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Under her breath, she said to herself, "What a creep,"


	4. Lust

It's been a week since they all started their devious plans. Sweeney Todd made incredible improvements to his chair so that with a step of a lever, he could easily dump the bodies of his victims down to the basement of Mrs. Lovett's shop. They were careful to pick men who had no friends or families that would be looking for them when they went missing. Once in a while, he brooded over his wife and Johanna, but it never interfered with their plan. It fact, it seemed to fuel his motivation. In the basement, Annabel Lee ground up the bodies into meat that Mrs. Lovett would use to fill her meat pies. She didn't come up during their rush hour and stayed down there, waiting for a fresh supply to arrive. Once in a while, she'll save a little flesh for herself and cook it along with the pies in the oven. It made it nice and crispy when it was done. Mrs. Lovett would come down every so often to get the ground-up meat and her pies out of the oven.

Their grand re-opening was far more successful than they had imagined. Toby, unknowing of the plan, and Mrs. Lovett served the pies to their hungry customers who kept wanting more and more. Mrs. Lovett kept chuckling to herself every time a customer asked what the meat was. "It's a special secret," she would always tell them. Toby used his advertising skills he had when he was selling Pirelli's scam to entice many people from all over London to try their scrumptious meat pies. Once in a while, the old beggar woman would come in trying to warn people of mischief, but Mrs. Lovett always kicked her out before she could talk to anyone.

During the day, Annabel went to Judge Turpin's house to work as a maid. Despite all her hate for him, she always came to work with a smile, except when it was time for lunch. Every lunch was the same: fruits or vegetables with toast and no meat. If she was lucky, she would get a sweet treat for dessert, but that was rare. She understood that he wanted her to become a vegetarian again, but she hated not eating meat even when she was "better". She would clean his house and serve him his meals and tea and he was very grateful for her help, but it took every ounce of his self-control to not pounce at her.

One day, Turpin watched her clean Johanna's room through a hole on a wall usually covered by a painting. He used this to spy on Johanna, but now, it had a better purpose. She had her hair in a bun like usual, which disappointed him every day. He wanted to see her long hair shine with sunlight. The maid's dress that he gave her really emphasized her curves perfectly. It was a little different from other maid outfits; it was a slim blue dress with a white apron around her waist. It was short enough to see her legs that were covered with white stockings, but not too short that she would be called a slut if worn in public, except for that neck line. It was low enough to show off her cleavage and it aroused him every time he saw it.

In the room, Annabel cleaned the window and felt like she was Johanna: trapped in this house and couldn't escape. Although Johanna had it far worse, she knew that if she didn't run away, she would have probably lived a life similar to hers. She would probably hope for a man like Antony to find her and take her away from a place like this. Luckily, she didn't have to endure such tragedy. "I feel you, Johanna," she whispered to herself.

Turpin watched every motion she made. She turned around and her bosom was in great view and he felt himself get hot and bothered. In his mind, he dreamed of walking into the room and passionately kissing her right there. She would embrace him and push him on the bed. They would start removing each other's clothes and the thought of her naked body wanting him made him hard. "Judge Turpin? What are you doing?" Beadle said out of nowhere. Turpin turned around sharply and his heart skipped a beat. Beadle saw the hole in the wall and knew what he was doing. "Should we talk in private?"

"Y-y-yes. I need to tell you something very important in my study," he said with haste as he pushed his partner in front of him so he wouldn't see the bulge in his pants.

When they arrived to his study, Beadle asked him, "What on earth is going on with you? Ever since that girl came back to us, you've been acting strange-,"

"I'm in love with Annabel Lee," he said abruptly. Beadle's eyes widened with shock. "I have been ever since I saw her outside my window."

"Well, master, I haven't seen you like this since Lucy Barker. I think you are even more lovesick now than you were then," Beadle said, still in shock by what just confessed.

"I know! I know, but this girl has spurred up emotions in me that I can no longer hide," he said with anxiety.

"Calm down, my lord!"

"How can I be calm?!" Turpin's yelled. "She's around every day and I'm tempted to do sinful things to her."

"Hold your composure!" Beadle said as he shook the old man to his senses. "She's just a maid!"

"No, she's more than that! I don't know how, but this woman has won my heart without even trying."

"What about Johanna?"

"I honestly intended to marry her, but from the moment I laid my eyes on Annabel, I just had to have her. That's why I was more than willing to send Johanna away to that asylum."

"Do you intend on marrying Annabel?

"I don't know," he said, finally calming down. "All I can think of is just having her in bed with me for one night."

"Well sir, that is pretty bold of you," Beadle said with a chuckle.

"But it has to be mutual this time. I don't want to repeat the barber's wife incident to the point that she poisons herself because of what I did,"

"I understand sir, but don't you think that Annabel came back for other reasons other than your help?" Beadle asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean," he asked with a bit of anger.

"Well, don't you think it's strange that she came to you right after you went to that barbershop?"

"No, it was just a coincidence. Remember, she works at the pie shop, not for that barber."

"All right, but she does know that sailor boy. Maybe she lied about not liking the chap and she's actually helping him get your ward. After all, she came the same day you sent Johanna away and she asked where she was."

"Even if she was, it would be impossible for her to get her now. There's no way out of that asylum."

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. "Judge Turpin, Mr. Bamford, would you gentlemen like some tea?" Annabel said through the door.

"We would love some, dearie," Beadle said and they heard her footsteps fade into the distance. Turpin gave him a scolding look, but he said, "It might be for the best."

After a few minutes, she opened the door and came in with a tray of tea and sweets. She set it down on a table in the middle of the study and started pouring the tea into the two cups. She handed it to the gentleman and they both took a sip. "It's jasmine tea. I hope you like it," she said with a smile.

"It's delicious," Turpin said with an uncomfortable smile. "Would you like some too?"

"Oh, I shouldn't,"

"I insist. You make lovely tea, my dear. It would be a shame if you didn't taste it yourself."

She debated for a moment. "All right, I'll have some," she said as she poured herself some tea. She took a sip and pretended to like it. She never really liked tea, but if it could get her on his good side, it was worth it.

There was an awkward moment of silence. Beadle expected Judge Turpin to say something, but he didn't. Annabel kept a smile on her face the whole time she was there and looked at them periodically. Finally, Beadle broke the silence by saying, "So, Annabel, do you enjoy working here with us?"

"Oh yes. I'm just glad you two forgave me for fleeing and are willing to help me. Since I've been here, I haven't tasted a drop of blood from another human," she said while taking another sip.

"Well, we're glad you came back, right Judge Turpin?" he hinted.

Turpin gave a nod. "Yes, we're very appreciative,"

"Are you by any chance in a relationship? Maybe with that barber?" Beadle asked, trying to get an answer that would disappoint Turpin.

"Oh no. We're only friends. To be honest with you, I haven't been in a relationship with any man. I wouldn't know what I would do if I was," she said truthfully. As much as she hated to admit it, she had no love life. Sure, men did hit on her multiple times, but she wanted commitment, not a one-night stand and so far, no man has shown her that.

"Not even for a night?" Beadle asked, infuriating both her and Turpin.

"Why do you want to know so much about my love life? No man has even touched me! I'm still . . .," she said before stopping herself. "What time is it?"

"It's a quarter past five," Beadle said while looking at his pocket watch.

"Shit! I'm going to be late," she said as she quickly put the cup down on the table and ran out the room.

"I-I'm sure they won't mind if you stayed for a little longer," Turpin said, chasing after her.

"I wish I could stay, but I have an important job now and if I'm late, they'll be behind on work," she said quickly as she left the door. He quickly checked the window and saw her run as fast as she could until she was out of sight.

"How come you didn't make a move on her?" Beadle asked.

"Why did you asked her those personal questions?! Even the way you asked it was far from subtle!" Turpin yelled at him.

"S-Sir, I just wanted to check if it was appropriate for you to court her,"

"Well, we got our answer! She's . . . pure," he said calmly as he looked out his window, hoping she'll come back.

* * *

"He said he loved me!" Annabel said in the basement. She was speaking to Mrs. Lovett who was on her way to get the pies out of the oven, but noticed she was actually strangely. She was grinding the meat in a very fast pace to the point where there was almost no meat left to grind. She asked her what was wrong and this was the response she received.

"How do you know?" Mrs. Lovett asked, equally horrified.

"I was overhearing their conversation in his study! I was hoping to hear some information about where Johanna was, but I heard something far worse," she said with a shudder.

"Are you sure they were talking about you and not Johanna?"

"He said my name," she said as she paused for a second with tears forming in her eyes. "He also said he wanted to do sinful things to me."

"Well, love, I don't know what to say."

"This has complicated things greatly!"

"Maybe not," she said contemplatively. Annabel looked at her with confusion. "A man will do anything for a girl he loves. You can convince him to get a shave to impress you,"

"Does that mean I have to pretend that I love him because the thought of that disgusts me?"

"Not necessarily. You can play hard to get; that will have him wanting you more. The more a man wants you, the more he is willing to do anything for you,"

"I suppose you're right, but we can't tell Sweeney about this. I fear that if he knows, he's going to kill me for 'falling for the judge',"

"Your secret is safe with me," Mrs. Lovett swore as she left the room.

Annabel kept grinding the meat in the grinder at the same fast pace until eventually, it was all gone. She looked around and she saw that there were no fresh bodies to grind coming down from the chute. She headed outside of the basement and into the shop up above. She was surprised to see how busy the place was and how many pies were being eaten at once. She let out a quiet chuckle, admiring the newborn cannibals in the room. She went to the patio outside and saw Mrs. Lovett and Toby serving customers. "All gone?" Mrs. Lovett asked.

"All gone."

"Then I guess you should start getting some fresh supply," she said with a wink.

Annabel walked around the shop and saw a few men with stubble on their cheek and chatted with them. "Hello, mister. My name is Annabel Lee and I'm an apprentice of the barber upstairs: Sweeney Todd. Would you like a shave?" Most said no, but there was one that said yes.

"Right after this meat pie," the young man said with a mouth full of pie. He was wearing a suit, convincing her that he was some kind of businessman. He was a very handsome fellow with dark hair and eyes that could make any woman want him, except for her.

"Do you have a family?"

"No, I'm a single man. Are you looking for an eligible bachelor?" the man asked flirtatiously.

"Not today sir." When he finished his pie, she directed him upstairs to the room. She opened the door and introduced the great barber of Fleet Street to the man.

"Care for a shave, mister?" Sweeney Todd asked.

"Sure, especially if this lovely lady is here," the man said boldly. She blushed and chuckled uncomfortably, but Todd gave him a scolding look.

"Well, I'll get you a good shave to impress the lady," he said with villainy in his voice. She was about to leave the room, but Todd said, "Stay here for a bit." She turned around and sat on the trunk in the room. He placed the cape around the man and lathered his face with shaving cream. When the moment was right, he slit his throat with his razor with more force than usual and his blood was splattering everywhere. Some of that blood splattered on Todd's cheek and the man was dead. Todd stepped on the lever and the man went down the chute.

"Too bad I don't have my flask with me. If I didn't show it to that bastard, I could have filled it with his blood," she said disappointedly. She saw the blood on his cheek and, without any warning, came up to him and licked it off him. He was shocked and her satisfied smile quickly turned into an uncomfortable look. "I'm sorry, did I go too far? I-I-I'll just go down to the basement to grind up the body," she said, but before she could leave, he grabbed her and placed her in his chair with the razor close to her neck.

"What would you do if I did this to you?" Todd asked seductively.

She turned to him and gave him a wicked grin. "I would tell you to bring it closer," she said. He was confused, but he did as she said and put the razor closer so it was touching her throat. She breathed harder. There was nothing that turned her on more than being close to death. Todd was surprised, but played along with her fantasy.

Eventually, he pulled the razor away from her throat and she gave him a pouty face. He grinned wickedly and pulled her close to him to the point where their chests were touching. "I don't like it when other men talk to you like that," he said as cupped her buttocks. She shrieked, but gave him a teasing smile. "You're mine and mine alone." He then kissed her and although she was shocked at first, she closed her eyes and embraced him. Their kiss grew more intense as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. In her mind, she thought of how great he tasted, but she didn't think of eating him. She wanted to devour him another way. After a minute of passionate kissing, their lips parted and they stared intensely into each other's eyes. They could feel each other breathe heavily, but he wanted more.

He suddenly pushed her against a wall and pinned her arms above her head, preventing her from escaping. She gave him a seductive look and he continued to kiss her passionately. He then let go of her arms in order to grope her wonderful body, starting with her perky breasts to her round hips. They were breathing heavier and heavier with every sensation they gave each other. He then kissed her neck and she was in ecstasy as she arched her back. She bit her lip and gave out a breathy sigh and countless moans that grew louder. His tongue on her neck couldn't feel any better and that cool feeling of air hitting against her wet skin only added to her pleasure. She bit into his covered shoulder and he stopped sharply. He looked at her and said, "No teeth, Annabel, or I might have to use mine." He then playfully bit her neck and her breathing peaked, but she let out a rather loud moan. He continued to pleasure her neck with his tongue and her head was swimming with all this new pleasure. This was the first time any man has done something this erotic to her and she loved every second of it. They could have done more if they didn't hear a voice outside the door.

"Annabel!" Mrs. Lovett called from outside. They could hear her climb the stairs and they quickly let go of each other. They quickly looked at the mirror to straighten themselves out, making sure there wasn't any sign of what happened earlier. She walked in the door and asked, "Mr. T, have you seen-," she said before stopping herself. "Annabel, I've got some news for you," she said suspiciously.

"What?" Annabel asked nervously.

"Beadle Bamford is here to see you."

They both gave her a shocked look. "What is that fucker doing here?"

"I think he's here to buy some pies, but it would probably be best for you to ask him why he's here,"

"Fine," she said as she marched out the room.

When the door closed, Mrs. Lovett looked at Sweeney and asked, "What were you two doing before I came in?"

"She acted as my apprentice and came up with a victim. I slit his throat and she drank some of his blood. Nothing more than that," he said as truthful as possible, but it didn't convince her. She looked at him, trying to find the truth behind his lie, but couldn't find anything.

* * *

Annabel walked down the stairs and looked through the window into the shop. She saw Beadle by the counter waiting for a hostess. He looked rather shady for a man who just wanted to buy some meat pies. She looked outside and saw a carriage waiting for him across the street. Hopefully, the coachman won't mind if he doesn't come back. She put on a smile and entered the shop. "Mr. Bamford! What a surprise to see you here!"

He looked at her and gave her a smile. "Oh, Annabel. Thank goodness you're here. Judge Turpin would like some of your lovely meat pies,"

"Oh, gladly. How many would you like?"

"Just three, my dear,"

"All right, anything else? Maybe some ale or even a shave?"

"No, I have to bring these back to the house as soon as possible. Could you put them in a bag for me?"

"Oh, sure," she said hesitantly. She grabbed three meat pies from the counter, put them in a cloth bag, and handed it over to Beadle. "That will be six pence,"

He looked into his coin bag and pulled out six pence and a shilling. He handed them over to her and she looked at him confused.

"Here's your change," she said, trying to hand back the shilling, but he gestured her to keep it.

"You can keep that if you escort me to the carriage," he said with a devious smile.

"Oh, I can't. I have to go back to work," she said desperately trying to get him to go away.

"It's just a short walk outside the shop. It won't be any trouble,"

"Hm, fine," she said reluctantly. He took her hand and directed her to the carriage. In the back of her mind, she wondered why he wanted her to escort him to the carriage. Did he need protection? The bag with the pies might be mistaken for a money bag to a desperate criminal, but who would mess with a man like Beadle? Did he want her to talk to him? Well, he's been silent all the way to the carriage, so that's a no. Did he want to kidnap her? Out of all the possible reasons, sadly, this one seemed to be the most realistic.

After a short walk across the street, they arrived to the elaborate, black carriage. For a man that prefers to walk everywhere, it did surprise her that he took a carriage to the pie shop. He opened the door and inside was:

"Hello, Annabel," Judge Turpin said. She stood dumbfounded and almost dropped the bag.

"J-J-J-Judge Turpin! You startled me! I wasn't expecting to see you here," she said frightened with her heart beating fast.

"Sorry, my dear, but I just wanted to invite you to dinner. With Johanna gone, it has been awfully lonely with just the two of us,"

"Dinner? Now?"

"Yes. I'm sure Mrs. Lovett won't mind-," he said, but was interrupted.

"But I have to serve the customers," she said abruptly.

"Let's just say the shilling I gave you is our payment for having you join us," he said as he pushed her in. She tried to get back out, but he entered the carriage and closed the door. He knocked on the wood above him, signaling the coachman to go. As the carriage started moving, she gave up and sat on the seat. She didn't want to look at neither Beadle nor Turpin, but she knew he was staring right at her, or at least, her body. She looked out the window and thought it looked nice out in the moonlight, but she wouldn't be able to enjoy it. They finally arrived to his house and she planned to run away as soon as they opened the door, but Turpin got out before she could and held out his hand to help her out. She reluctantly took his hand and he escorted her inside.

He took her to his dining room where he had three sets of silverware on the table, ready for a meal. He planned this in advance; he was expecting her to join them for dinner. He pushed her seat back like a gentleman and she took the seat. He took the seat right in front of hers instead at his usual spot at the head of the table. Beadle grabbed the bag of meat pies and took out two of them and put them on their plates.

Before he could pull out his own, Beadle said, "Oh I almost forgot. I have to attend a meeting with Mr. Pennywise about some complaints circling around the city and I'm afraid, I can't join you two. I'll be back as soon as I can," he said as he put the bag on the table and leaving the room. They could hear the door close and she was more nervous than ever. This was a date! It's just the two of them eating a meal together and getting to know each other more, but she dreaded it.

There was a long period of silence; no one said a word since Beadle left. She started eating her meat pie without a fork or knife to try to ease the awkwardness, but he wasn't eating his pie. He was just staring at her like she was an exhibit in a museum, marveling in all her wonder and awe. Without saying a word, he got up from his seat and walked to his wine rack close to the table. He showed her a bottle of wine and she looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. "Would you like some?" Turpin said to her as he walked back to the table.

"No thank you. I don't drink anymore," she said, eyeing the bottle.

"Really? What about your flask? You've had that for a long time, I presume."

"The flask has alcohol for emergency reasons, like cleaning wounds, not for drinking. I haven't taken a sip of alcohol for almost five years."

"Oh, but you must try this wine," he said as he poured a glass for him and Annabel. "It was imported from Italy, one of the finest wine countries in the world. I'm sure you'll love it." He handed her the glass, but she gestured him to keep it.

"I've been sober for this long. I don't want to relapse."

"Oh, well then," he said as he put the cork back on the bottle. He got up from his seat and walked to the wine rack to put it back. In her mind, she knew why she denied a good drink. As much as it pained her, she had to reject her to keep her mind sharp. She loved alcohol and if she had one sip, she would have another and he would always give her more. If she was drunk, she feared the worse from Turpin.

"Thank you for the offer, though," she said feebly.

"No problem," he said with a bit of disappointment in his voice. "So, how is work over there treating you?"

"It's great. Our meat pie business has never been more profitable. It's all thanks to Mrs. Lovett changing her recipe to something more . . . delectable."

"I'm glad to hear that. What about the barber?"

"He's doing well. More men come in to get a shave and he does such a great job that they always come back for more. He's really good at his craft," she advertised, but added, "I wish you would come back."

"I would love to, my dear, but until I know that he doesn't work for that sailor boy, I won't step foot in his establishment," he said with a bit of anger.

"Sweeney Todd doesn't work for him. He came in saying that because he was his friend. They sailed all over the world and arrived here together. Although he has told Antony multiple times that he doesn't want to help him, he keeps going to him."

"What about you? You said you met him outside my house and he was badly beaten,"

"Sure, I guess you could say I'm his friend, but only because I cleaned his wounds up that day and he comes by the shop occasionally. Otherwise, I don't really care for him at all."

"Well then, I guess I might stop by in the future, just for you," he said before catching what he said and scolding himself in his mind.

"Thank you and I guarantee you he will give you a free shave for that rude interruption."

"Thanks," he said briefly. She finished her meat pie and noticed he still hasn't eaten his meat pie. She locked eye contact with him and she pointed at the meat pie with her fork. He looked down at his pie and quickly picked up his knife and fork to get a piece. He finally took a bite and she smiled. "Mm, it's very good. What's the secret to make it so delicious?"

"It's a secret ingredient. Telling you would ruin the surprise."

"All right. Would you mind bringing some of these delicious pies to my upcoming masquerade ball?"

She looked at him with widened eyes. "Masquerade ball?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes. I have it once a year. You've been to some when you were a child," he said, ignoring the uneasiness in her appearance.

"Yes, but I was serving drinks to the guests. I wasn't old enough to enjoy the festivities."

"Well, now I want you to be a guest to this ball and not just a servant. I want you to enjoy yourself."

"But I have work-,"

"I'll buy as many meat pies as needed to get you to be part of this ball. I would love it if you could attend."

"Well, I could ask Mrs. Lovett if it's all right. When is this party?"

"In three day, my dear. I'll even have a tailor come in to make you a beautiful dress,"

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can buy myself one-,"

"Nonsense. You're my ward and I'm willing to buy you a dress that will make you more beautiful than ever. You'll be the belle of the ball."

"Well then, how could I turn down such an offer," she said with a fake smile. Inside, she was terrified. She looked at the clock and saw that it was half past eight. "Oh shit! I'm sorry Judge Turpin, but I have to go," she said as she quickly got up from the table and headed for the door.

"Could you stay for a bit longer?"

"I've told you countless times that if I miss work, they'll be behind. They need me to stay caught up with the customers. I'll see you in the morning," she said hastily and left the house with a fast pace. He checked her window and saw her run all the way out of sight.

"If she only drank the wine, she would have stayed," he said under his breath. "She would have been all mine."

* * *

In the morning, Turpin and Beadle waited anxiously for Annabel, but she didn't come to work on time this morning. She usually came around seven, but it was already nine. Turpin feared that something happened to her, but Beadle kept assuring him that she was okay. He frequently checked the window to find any trace of her, but couldn't find anything. He decided to go to the pie shop to ask if they have seen her, but before he could leave, he heard a knock on the door. Beadle quickly went to the door and opened it. "Sorry I'm late! I overslept this morning and had to run all the way here," she said out of breath.

"I'm glad to hear you're all right. We were worried sick about you," Beadle said. Turpin quickly ran to the front door and saw her, still trying to catch her breath. She wore her dress, but her hair was down. Her face with lathered with sweat from running, but it gave her a glow from the sun.

"I'm sorry, but they worked me hard last night. Grinding meat can be a time-consuming job,"

"Well, you're here now and that's all that matters," Beadle said, pushing her in. When she walked into the living room, she started fixing her hair into a bun and Turpin watched her. He loved how her nimble fingers pushed away her brunette curls. He looked at her creamy skin that was free from blemish . . . until he saw a red hickey on her neck. The mark of a lover was on her perfect skin.

"What is that on your neck?" Turpin asked curiously.

She stared at him with confusion, but looked at the mirror and was shocked to see the hickey. "W-What the hell is that?" Annabel asked with feigned terror.

"I thought you didn't have a lover," he said, trying to catch her lie.

She could see him through the mirror and she was no longer feigning her terror. "What are you talking about? I told you that I'm not in a relationship with any man. I haven't met a man who was attracted to me."

"That can't be true. You just don't know it yet," he said, being as comforting to her as possible.

"You haven't answered my question, Judge Turpin! What is this on my neck?! Is it the sign of a plague?"

"No, Annabel, it's just a hickey. It usually appears when a lover kisses or bites your neck, but it is unusual in your case,"

"I swear on my soul that I do not have a lover, but how do I get rid of this?! I can't go to work with this!"

"I know a way to cure them," he said with a little mischief in his voice.

"That's great! Can you show me?" she said with feigned hope.

"Of course, my dear." He turned her around to face him and held onto her shoulders. She looked at him with her brown eyes that were filled with both fear and happiness. He looked at her lips and he could no longer resist them any longer.

He kissed her. Annabel winced back in shock to get away from his lips, but he held on to her strongly. She couldn't escape and had to stand there with their lips touching. He slightly embraced her, hoping she would do the same, but she didn't. He kissed her for an awfully long time before he pulled back and she stood there in complete shock. "Why . . . why did you do that?" she said in a feeble voice.

"A kiss should stimulate the blood so that it can get rid of your hickey," he lied. She put her fingers on her lips and could feel her eyes water. He saw her distress and tried to embrace her, but she walked away and sat on a nearby chair. "What's the matter?" Turpin asked, but she didn't answer. Instead, she looked away to hide the tears slowly running down her cheek. "Was this your first kiss?"

"Y-yes," she feebly lied. He just forced himself onto her lips without any warning and it completely surprised her. She didn't think he would do this to her now and wished he never did.

"I'm sorry. I should have given you some warning before acting so irrationally. I just assumed you would have kissed another man before,"

"Well, I haven't," she yelled as she left the room. He didn't chase after her. He knew he should have controlled himself, but he could not resist a peck on the lips any longer. Actually, it was more of a deep kiss, just without any tongue. Why did she react the way she did? He found it odd for a twenty-five year old woman to have never been kissed before. A woman would welcome their first kiss, even if it was sudden. Why did she feel almost . . . disgusted?

For the rest of the day, Annabel tried desperately to avoid Turpin. She didn't even serve tea for him; she had another servant do it for him. She cleaned the rooms and whenever he "accidentally" walked in, she would leave immediately. He didn't try to explain himself since he couldn't really. He said all he could and talking to her would make things worse. Eventually, it was five and she left without a word. He didn't even see her leave, but he thought she needed some rest. She had a long day today.


	5. Belle of the Ball

**Author's Note: I gave the beggar woman a name, but for those of you who have seen the musical or movie, you might understand why I gave her the name. Enjoy!**

* * *

Annabel was sitting on a bench at a park close to Judge Turpin's house. She was dressed for work and usually arrived to work around seven, but it only was half past six. Thoughts crept into her mind, but the one that stood out the most was the kiss. She knew he loved her, or rather lusted for her, but that kiss messed with her head. She has been kissed many times before, not just with Sweeney Todd. It was foolish of him to believe that their kiss was her first kiss, but she still played along with the story. Despite all her previous kisses, none, not even her first kiss, was as impactful as her kisses with Sweeney Todd and Judge Turpin. Sweeney kissed her out of the blue too, but she embraced his kiss and it turned into a passionate session that she loved. With Turpin, it felt as if he stole something precious from her, but she couldn't understand what.

"Annabel? Are you all right," a familiar voice asked with concern.

She looked up and was surprisingly happy to see him. "Nothing's wrong, Antony. I was just thinking," she said. Although she remembered him ruining their chance of Sweeney killing Judge Turpin, it was nice to see him. After all, they were still friends.

"Have you heard any news about Johanna?" he asked nervously. She almost forgot her plan to help him get Johanna, but she had other things to focus on. At least she had somewhat good news for him.

"Actually, I did hear Turpin say that he sent her to an asylum, but I don't know which one exactly."

"Really? That's great news! Thank you," he said as he gave her a hug, but she quickly pushed him off. "I'll search all of London to find the one she's in and once I do, we'll run away together like we planned!"

"I hope you do," she said softly. They exchanged farewells and he left to find his beloved, but his dream seemed foolish to her every time he mentioned it. It seemed so farfetched that she couldn't see it working, but she won't say it in front of his face. At least he has hope, which is more than she had.

A few seconds after he left, she sat back on the bench, but someone else was there with her. "Alms for a desperate woman?" It was the old beggar woman. Annabel reached into her pocket, took out the shilling Beadle gave her, and gave it to her. "Thank you very much, miss," she said, not expecting this much from a stranger. Usually, people would give her a penny, but this generous woman gave her more.

"You're welcome."

"That boy looks cute, don't you think?" the beggar woman said with playful mischief.

"Oh, he's only a friend. Besides, he's already in love with another girl."

"So, there's no room in that heart of yours for a guy like him?"

"To be honest with you, he's not my type. I'd rather have a bad boy."

"A bad boy?"

"Yes. Nice guys bore me, but bad boys always bring excitement into my life."

"Well, I hope it's only excitement and not fear, dearie."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen many women fall for the murders and thieves and it always ends with disaster, whether it's a broken heart, injuries, or even death. Just be careful, dearie," the woman said in a tone that seemed like she was hiding something.

"Did you ever experience something like that yourself?"

"Not exactly. I wasn't in love with the man or anything, but he was madly in love with me. He seemed like a nice guy, but inside, he was the devil. All I can say is that he didn't ask for my consent."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It doesn't matter. It's all in the past, dearie. Sometimes, time does take away the pain. Now, it's just a memory with no bitter aftertaste," she said as she got up from the bench. "Thanks for chatting with an old beggar woman like me,"

"Welcome. What's your name by the way, just in case we chat again?"

"Oh, my name is of no importance, but if you must know, it's Luciboker,"

"Luciboker? What an odd name. Well, my name is Annabel Lee,"

"Nice to meet you Annabel,"

"I hope I'll see you soon,"

"We shall see," she said before leaving her side and begging for more money from other strangers.

* * *

Annabel finally arrived to Judge Turpin's house, but was surprised to see that only Beadle greeted her. "Judge Turpin's not here, I'm afraid. He had a last minute meeting that he could not miss. Just do what you do normally and he'll be here shortly,"

"Oh, all right," she said in relief. It was a nice change to not see Turpin first thing in the morning and she grabbed a duster from the maid's quarters. She started to clean his study and tried desperately to forget about the kiss, but nothing, not even a good amount of alcohol, could help her forget. She imagined the kiss that Sweeney Todd gave her; that passionate kiss that filled her with pleasure, but somehow, it didn't work. Despite that, it wasn't the only thing on her mind. The ball was tomorrow night and it has made her nervous ever since he mentioned it. She wondered what at the party he was so eager about, to the point that he would buy a dress for her. Not only that, but a dress that would make her the belle of the ball.

After an hour of cleaning, she heard the door open and in came Turpin and an old man. She pretended to not hear them walk in and continued cleaning, but then she heard them walk into the study and had no choice but to acknowledge them. She turned around and gave the men a curtsy. "Welcome home, Judge Turpin."

"Hello, Annabel. I would like to introduce you to my good friend, Mr. Henry Wilson. He's a tailor and he'll make you a beautiful dress for the ball tomorrow," he said as he introduced the man. Mr. Wilson had white hair and wrinkles all over his face, just like Turpin. He had a rather chubby figure and wore typical tailor clothing and measuring tape around his neck.

"It's a pleasure to meet this fine lady," Mr. Wilson said as he took her hand and kissed it. She pulled her hand back quickly and Turpin gave him an unnerving stare that only she saw. "I'm here to get your measurements."

"Oh, right now?" she asked.

"Of course, miss. I need them as fast as possible if I want to get your dress done by tomorrow night. I mean, I do have a dress in mind for you to wear, but I want to make sure you'll fit in it."

"A-All right," she said nervously. She put down her duster on a table as Henry grabbed the tape around his neck and straightened it to measure her height. He put the end of the tape under her foot and raised it to her head, slightly caressing her arm as he went up. She let out a slight shiver, knowing that Turpin was watching her this whole time.

"Five foot five," Henry said under his breath. He wrote down the measurement in a notepad and continued the measuring. "Now, your waist line." He put the tape around her waist and he seemed impressed by the number shown on the tape. "36."

"How much longer is this?" Turpin asked his supposed friend. He didn't like the fact that he was so close to her, marveling at her body. He could see the lust in his eyes and it infuriated him. Not only that, but even Annabel felt uncomfortable this whole time, but he didn't know why.

"My friend, we just started. Be patient; I still need a few more measurements. It won't take too long," he said as he pulled the tape from her waist down to the floor to get her skirt length.

"How are you feeling, Annabel," Turpin said out of the blue, but she looked away, avoiding any conversation with him. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I really am."

"What did you do?" Henry asked teasingly, now measuring her arm length.

"None of your fucking business," Annabel yelled. She walked away, almost like she was going to cry, but she took a deep breath and asked, "What's next?"

"Only the bust, dearie," he said, a little afraid that she might attack him. She walked toward him and extended her arms so he could measure. He wrapped the tape around her bosom and she felt awkward, especially since his hands had to touch her in the most vulnerable place. He looked at the tape and was surprised by the number, but also very satisfied.

"All right, Mr. Wilson. I think you've got your measurements," Turpin said as he directed his "friend" out of his home.

"The dress you showed me is almost perfect; it only needs little adjustment. I can have it ready for you later today."

"Glad to hear, but you've got to go now so you can work on it," he said as he directed him out the door. He walked back in the study and saw her sitting in his chair at his desk, but facing the window. The sunshine that came through the window was like a spotlight from the heavens that made her skin glow. He tried stepping back quietly, but he bumped into a table and made a racket. She turned around and saw his embarrassment.

"I'm glad he's gone. He made me very uncomfortable," she said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but he was just getting your measurements, my dear."

"I'm not stupid, Judge Turpin," she said with anger. He thought he was caught, but she said, "He was looking at me with those lustful eyes. He was admiring my body like an animal looks at their prey. It sickens me."

"I'm sorry, but he'll make you a beautiful dress that I'm sure you'll look lovely in," he said, putting a hand to her cheek, but she brushed it away.

"You didn't think that I forgot about what happened yesterday, did you?"

"No, I didn't. You just seemed depressed and I wanted to comfort you."

"Please don't. I'm just your maid," she said with painful sweetness.

"No, you're more than that," he said before pausing for a moment. "You're my ward."

"But I'm no longer a child. Just treat me like one of your maids. You've done good things for me, Judge Turpin, but I feel like you might have done too much," she said as she grabbed the duster and left the room.

* * *

Later that night when rush hour was almost over, Annabel walked around the shop, looking for fresh meat, but none of the men wanted a shave. In defeat, she walked up to the barbershop and saw Sweeney Todd sharpening his razors. "Nobody wants a shave tonight and I've got no bodies to grind up. I just have nothing to do," she said.

"Well, since you're here, why don't we have a little fun?" Sweeney Todd said seductively.

"Now?" she teased, but he walked towards her and immediately kissed her. She felt relieved to have him kiss her like a woman was supposed to be kissed: passionately. She embraced him and their tongues exploited each other's with ease. They could have stayed like this forever, but reality kicked in.

"Ahem," a male voice said within the shop. They quickly let go of each other and saw the man who came in for a shave. They didn't hear the bell at all and the man saw them kissing. "Hey, don't I know you? Annabel Lee, correct?"

"M-Mr. Wilson? What a surprise to see you here," Annabel said with shock.

"I could say the same. So, this is the famous barber Sweeney Todd and apparently, quite a ladies' man,"

"Yes, sir. Care for a shave?" Todd said, trying to hold in his embarrassment.

"Well, that's why I'm here," he said as he sat in his chair. "By the way, Ms. Lee, I just delivered your dress to Judge Turpin before coming here."

Todd gave her a suspicious look, but all she said was, "Thank you."

Suddenly, Mrs. Lovett came in to the room and urgently said, "Mr. T, I have to tell you something."

"I have a customer right now," he said with a bit of annoyance.

"He can wait. This is very important,"

He sighed. "Fine! Annabel, can you watch your friend here while I'm gone,"

"Sure," she said with fake happiness as he and Mrs. Lovett left the room.

Outside, Mrs. Lovett told him, "I think something is wrong with Annabel."

"That's the important thing you needed to tell me?!" Todd asked in annoyance. There's nothing that irritated him more than the wait for the kill.

"I know it seems trivial to you, but I care about her well-being. I'm only mentioning this to you because you're the one who is oblivious to her distress,"

"What do you mean?"

"She told you about the masquerade ball, right?"

"Of course. I wanted her to avoid it, but she says she has to go, hoping he'll get a shave before the party,"

"Well, it seems to be affecting her a lot. Remember, she was at one of those parties when she ran away. I think the memory of what happened there is making her feel uneasy. I wouldn't blame her."

"I'm sure she has everything under control. I'll admit, I have noticed that she has seemed less happy recently, but I know that she'll get me that bastard's throat for me to slit."

"I hope so."

* * *

"So, are you in a relationship with Mr. Todd?" Henry asked curiously.

"Why do you want to know?" Annabel said with anger.

"I find it odd that Judge Turpin is love with you, but you don't return the love. In fact, you give it to someone else,"

She looked at him with sad eyes. "He told you?"

"You know? He told me that you didn't know about his love for you."

"I overheard him talk about me with Beadle, but I'm aware of it. Why on earth would he tell you?"

"Have you forgotten that he and I are friends? He said he needed a dress for the most beautiful lady he has ever seen. Even when he kicked me out for 'admiring your body', he proved how much he loves you," he said, but his tone was of hate rather than admiration when referring to her body.

"Well, I wish he didn't. I don't love him at all!"

"Oh, well, it would be such a shame if Judge Turpin found out about this or your barber lover," he said in a foreshadowing tone.

"You wouldn't fucking dare," she threatened.

"Well, I want him to know the truth. Women are very dangerous, but it's a lesson he can't learn. I doubt you even came to him for help. I think you're trying to kill him."

"Why would you think that?" Annabel said with a bit of villainy in her voice. He knew a whole lot about her despite only meeting her today and it made her suspicious. Without him realizing, she took one of Sweeney's razors and put it behind her back.

"Well, Ms. Lee, why else would a cannibal go back to the man that killed her parents? You want revenge and hoping that a man with the razors will kill him for you and take the blame for it. After that, you can go free with no blood on your hands."

"I would never do something like that to Sweeney Todd!" Annabel said as she opened the razor behind her back.

"But you would kill Judge Turpin? Oh, wait until he hears about this! He'll have you hanged for this, like you were supposed to all those years ago! You deserve to rot in Hell like your parents, you spawn of the devil!

"Shut up," she yelled, finally showing the razor to him.

"Oh, you're going to kill me too, like your murderous parents? I bet you don't have it in you to-," he said before a razor cut across his neck, spilling all of his blood onto the floor. After a few seconds, he was dead and tears crept into her eyes.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Todd asked as he came in, but he noticed the dead body, the bloody razor, and finally, a distraught Annabel with tears flowing down her cheeks. He rushed to her and gave her a hug and she cried onto his shoulder.

"What happened?" Mrs. Lovett said as he stepped on the lever to send the body down the chute.

"He had to die! He was going to tell Turpin his version of our plan," she said in between sobs.

"How did he know?" Todd said, still trying to comfort her.

"I didn't tell him, I swear, but he recognized me as the cannibal child who lost her sinful parents and thought I wanted revenge on Turpin by having Sweeney kill him. Not only that, he said I deserved to die and rot in Hell, just like my parents."

"I'm so sorry, love. Maybe the day after the ball, we can all have a day off. After all, we have a successful business, so one day off shouldn't harm it too much. We'll leave first thing in the morning and have a nice little picnic or something like that," Mrs. Lovett said.

"I would like that," she said softly.

Suddenly, Toby rushed in and said, "Ma'am, customers are waiting for you downstairs." He saw the scene, but not the obvious blood on the floor, and asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. C'mon! We've got customers to serve," she said, escorting the boy out the room.

In the room, he kept his arms around her as she gradually stopped crying. "Thank you," she said feebly to him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, you did the right thing. I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes."

"I know you would," she joked. "But, it's different when a person insults your innocent family by saying they were evil. Even worse is when they say you deserved to die with them,"

"Don't ever believe that! You're an amazing and beautiful woman who deserves to live her life the way she wants, even if it is a little different from others," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Sweeney Todd," she said as she quickly kissed him. She put her mouth close to his ear and said, "I love you."

"I love you too Lu-, er, Annabel," he said. She got up and started to walk away, but he said, "Promise me that you'll be careful tomorrow. Remember, that bastard raped my wife at one of those fucking parties,"

"I will. I won't drink any drinks he gives me and I'll make sure I'm not cornered," she said before going down to the basement to grind up Mr. Henry Wilson, or at least as much as she could after a snack.

* * *

The day of the party, Annabel came to work, still a little shaken from the night before. She tried desperately to avoid Turpin, but it didn't take long for him to find her. "Annabel, I'm glad you're here. Your dress was delivered yesterday and I want you to try it on now," he said with glee.

"Why now?"

"I want to make sure it fits. If there any problems, I want Henry to fix it before tonight,"

"All right, fine," she said in a bit of annoyance. He directed her to Johanna's room where two maids, one old and one young, were waiting for them.

"Hello Judge Turpin," the women said in unison. The old maid had white hair, but had a surprisingly less wrinkled face than an average old woman. The younger maid had short blonde hair that didn't need to be in a bun and a youthful face.

"Hello ladies. I want you girls to make sure that she looks perfect in her dress. If there any flaws, you tell me,"

"Yes sir," they said.

"Good. I'll be back. I have to run to the courtroom for a meeting and won't return until the late morning,"

"Goodbye sir," they said as he left the room, but not before giving her a smile.

"Well missy, your dress is in the closet. Let's see how it looks," the old maid said to Annabel. She walked to the closet, opened it, and was surprised to see what was in there. It was an emerald green, slim dress that looked quite amazing. She grabbed the dress with the coat hanger and took it off the hanger. The maids helped her out of her maid dress and put a corset on her, pulling the strings so hard that she barely had any room to breathe. "I haven't seen him buy a dress for any woman. You must be a special lady to Judge Turpin."

"What about Johanna," the young maid asked.

"He did buy dresses for her, but he never put so much care into one dress for her. You must have pulled his heartstrings or something like that in order to get special treatment from a man like him."

"You think so?" Annabel said, now slipping into her dress.

"Wow! Miss, you look lovely!" the young maid said. Annabel looked at herself in the mirror and was mesmerized by the dress. The emerald green looked great compared to her skin, the slimness showed off her natural body, rather than having it covered by a puffed up skirt, and the length was to her liking: long enough to cover her legs. The only complaint she had was how much cleavage was showing, but she knew he wanted it that way. Plus, she couldn't ask to change it because Mr. Wilson was no longer around to change it. She cooked him up very nicely and ground up whatever was left of him. "Don't forget your gloves!" Annabel grabbed the gloves from the young maid's delicate hands and put them on. They reached all the way to her elbow and were a slight shade darker than the dress, but it looked rather nice on her.

"My, my! You'll be the belle of the ball for sure," the old maid said. "Now what should we do about your hair and makeup?"

"I can do that on my own. Thank you two for helping me."

"Oh, we mustn't forget about your mask," the young maid said as she looked through the closet to find it. She finally pulled out a green mask with elaborate black designs in it. She put it on and it matched her dress perfectly.

"If you ladies don't mind, I would like to take this off me and start doing my job," Annabel said, trying to take off the dress, but they stopped her.

"I'm afraid Judge Turpin ordered us to make you stay in that dress until he gets a good look at you," the old maid told her.

"Well then, I guess he'll have to wait until tonight. I want this to be a surprise for him," she said, trying to hold in her anger.

"I don't know how he'll react to that?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it. After all, if I promise to not take it off, will you let me go home early so I can get ready?"

"I . . . guess that won't be an issue," the young maid said hesitantly.

"All right, ladies, I'll see you tonight," she said as she left, but not before saying, "Could you two do me a favor? Could you tell Judge Turpin to get a shave before the party? I'll be there waiting for him."

"Sure, milady," they said. She took her mask off, placed it on the dresser, and left the house.

* * *

"For a perverted old man, he does pick a good dress for you," Mrs. Lovett said while fixing her hair to give it a wavy look. As she fixed her hair, Annabel put on some makeup, but she didn't put on much; just lipstick, powder, and some black eyeliner.

"It just frightens me how far he is willing to go to get me in bed with him. Nothing he can do will get me in bed with him, even if he promises to get a shave for me, but I'm scared that he won't ask for my consent," Annabel said, putting on her red lipstick.

"As long as you're careful around him, I'm sure nothing like that will ever happen to you. Don't drink anything they offer you and don't get trapped in a corner. I don't want you to end up like Mrs. Barker."

"I'm always on guard, Mrs. Lovett. I know not to do those things."

"Just be extra careful tonight, all right love?"

"I will."

Suddenly, Sweeney Todd came in to talk to Mrs. Lovett, but was surprised to see her there and even more shocking, looking absolutely beautiful. "My god, you look like an angel!"

"Oh, you flatter me, Mr. Todd," she said teasingly, not aware that Mrs. Lovett was looking at her with cold eyes.

"But I mean it. I haven't seen this much beauty for a long time," he said, contemplating about his wife.

"Hopefully, Judge Turpin will be here for a shave and give you the chance to get your revenge. I told his maids to tell him that I'll be here, so let's see if he comes."

"Great. I'll make sure my razors are nice and sharp for his throat."

"Don't forget, I want a front row seat to his demise," she said with a smile. She was tempted to kiss him, but Mrs. Lovett was in the room and she would like their relationship to be a secret.

It was nighttime before they realized that Judge Turpin wasn't coming in for a shave. Annabel was looking out of the window of the barbershop, hoping she'd she a glimpse of him, but saw nothing. Lucky for her, business upstairs was slow, so she could stay up there longer. Plus, she didn't want to go downstairs for the entertainment of all the men there. "Why isn't he here?" Todd asked her, admiring how beautiful she looked with the moonlight shining on her.

"He's supposed to come before the party, but it's going to start in about ten minutes. Where the fuck is he?!" Suddenly, she saw the carriage pull up by the shop and out came Beadle Bamford in an elaborate devil costume. "What is he doing here?"

Suddenly, they hear steps coming up the stairs and in came Mrs. Lovett and Beadle. "My, my! It's remarkable how a woman can turn into perfection with just a simple dress and makeup. Judge Turpin will be very delighted to see you, dearie," Beadle said.

"Where is Judge Turpin?" Annabel asked.

"I'm afraid he couldn't stop by because he had to make last minutes plans. Too bad though, he needed that shave."

"Oh, well, I guess it can't be helped," she said with disappointment and followed him to the carriage, desperately hoping that something miraculous could stop this fateful meeting.

They arrived to the ball and she was filled with more nervousness. This was the time of year she wished she never had to return to, but if this is what it took for the judge's death, then she had to go. "Don't forget your mask," Beadle said as he handed her the mask she left behind. She put it on and he put on his devil mask. He walked in with her and she could see the festivities all around. People were drinking all over and in large amounts. The music was nice and the dancing varied from pleasant to obscene. People were dressed in such elaborate costumes, varying from angels and demons to royalty to mythical creatures. Beadle kept leading her to a certain area, but stopped when he saw a single dark glass on a table. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Please try some. It's supposed to be really good."

"I rather not," she said, but he forcefully handed the drink to her anyway.

"Mr. Bamford," two male voices yelled. They turned toward the voices and noticed a group of people surrounding the men who had bottles of liquor next to them. "We're having a little drinking contest and we want you to be our judge!"

"Of course!" Beadle said as he advanced toward the contest, leaving her behind to sneak away. "The man who drinks the most liquor without puking will be the winner! Ready? Go!"

Annabel walked to a secluded hallway away from the party, where she felt safe. She looked around and noticed that no one was around, which relaxed her. The music was playing in the background, but the noise was also noticeable. She remembered the drink she was still holding in her hand and decided to take a sip, but before she could, she smelled something off about the drink. There was no alcoholic smell. It smelled like . . . blood. She took another sniff, hoping that Turpin didn't finally lose his mind to please her, but figured out it was only pig's blood. Her keen sense of smell when it came to blood finally paid off. She would have drunk it anyway if she didn't remember her promise to Mrs. Lovett about not drinking and poured the drink into a nearby planter.

"Congratulations Annabel," a baritone voice said behind her. She quickly turned around and saw Judge Turpin wearing his elaborate costume. He seemed rather drunk since he kept swaying his body all over the place. He had a bottle of some alcohol in his hand and his speech was slurred to the point she barely understood what he said. "You faced your temptation and defeated it. I'm so proud of you," he said as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her in for an embrace.

"Judge Turpin, I think you have had too much to drink," Annabel said jokingly, trying to get out of his embrace, but couldn't.

"Y-Y-Yes I am! I am drunk because of your beauty. You're a very . . . very beautiful woman. I just want to kiss you," he said as he tried to kiss her again, but she pulled her face away so their lips wouldn't touch.

"Judge Turpin! You're drunk!"

"I told you I'm drunk in love! I . . . I love you, Annabel," he said as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.

Her eyes widened. This shouldn't have shocked her, but she never expected him to say it to her face. "Wait, what?"

"I love you Annabel Lee! I can say that over and over again until the day I die! I . . . I can even shout it to the Lord in Heaven. I love you! I want you! I must . . . have you!" Turpin said as he kissed her. She tried pulling back, but he pinned her to a wall where she couldn't escape. She tried desperately to get him off her, but he wouldn't budge. His tongue invaded her mouth and she tried everything she could to avoid him touching her tongue. Eventually, he pulled back and she was left in utter shock. "Don't give me that look again. At least I gave you a warning this time."

"Not really. I-I'm flattered, but I-,"

"Don't say another word," he said as he put a finger to her lips. "I can make you happy. I can give you everything you ever wanted. All I ask from you is just one night with me."

"You mean, sleep with you," she asked in terror.

"Maybe," he said with a mischievous smile as he cupped her cheek with his hand. "What do you say?"

She just stared into his eyes. She didn't know what to say. Of course, the idea of having sex with Turpin made her want to puke, but she had to get on his good side. She felt trapped, but she gave him an answer. "All right."

"Great!" Turpin said as he forcefully directed her through the hallway into his chambers. He opened the door and she was surprised to see how large the room was. It was twice if not three times larger than Johanna's room, which seemed excessive for a man who did not have a lot of possessions. She never came into the room since she feared that if she did, he would be tempted to do "sinful things" to her. "Please, have a seat on the bed while I pour both of us a glass," he said.

"I told you I haven't had a drink in five years. I'd rather not start now. Plus, I think you need to slow down your alcohol consumption."

"Oh, but you must have some! It's delicious sherry. I would have something for us to eat, but . . . but then we would be disturbed," he said with a wicked grin. He poured the two glasses and handed one to her. Even though she gestured him no, he forced her to keep it.

"Well, I guess one drink isn't that bad," she said. She lifted the glass and she drank down the whole glass of sherry like a shot. "It was a bad idea for you to give me alcohol,"

"Oh is it?" he said with mischief, misinterpreting what she said. He then stroked her hair as if she was a cat and she felt more uncomfortable the longer he petted her. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said, pretending to be seductive. He forcefully pushed her onto the bed and put his leg over her so he could be on top of her. Her heart kept beating faster and faster with every move he made towards her. This was the first time any man was this close to getting her in bed with them, but she wished it wasn't him. He started kissing her neck and she had to pretend she enjoyed it so he wouldn't pin her down on the bed. She let out some soft moans that made him hard. She felt something move between them and her breathing peaked with fright.

He looked into her eyes and said, "Don't worry, my darling. You'll know exactly what that was in a moment." He kept kissing her neck, hoping she would beg for more, but she only let out breathy sighs. She looked around and saw a decorative vase on the nightstand at the side of the bed. It looked pretty heavy and thought it might help her get out of this mess. She then felt him bite her neck more painfully than Sweeney Todd did and she let out a painful shriek, but all he heard was a shriek with pleasure. She looked at the vase again and with a swift motion, she grabbed it and hit him on the head with it. It shattered to large pieces and Turpin was unconscious on top of her.

"Holy shit," she said out of breath. She pushed him off of her and got up from the bed. She gathered the pieces of the vase and hid them underneath the bed so no one would see them. She placed him on the bed to look like he passed out from drinking too much and put his glass of sherry next to him for proof. She grabbed the bottle of sherry and quickly ran out of his house through the alleyway all the way to her own home, where she knew she was safe. Tears flooded down her cheek and she knew there was only one way for her to forget about tonight. Luckily, she had many bottles at home for her to drink.


	6. What She Wanted

"Where is she?" Mrs. Lovett said in her pie shop. She, Sweeney Todd, and Toby were waiting in the shop with their basket filled with gin, wine, meat pies, and sandwiches, but there was no sign of Annabel. They planned to meet at eight o'clock, but it was almost eleven o'clock. "She's never been this late, not even to work. Do you think something bad happened to her?"

"She's a strong woman. I'm sure she'll be fine," Sweeney Todd said with confidence, but he was getting a little impatient waiting for her.

"I wish I knew where she lived so I can check on her."

"You don't know where she lives?" Toby asked with curiosity.

"No. She was living with me for the longest time until she got the money to buy her own place, but when she did, she said she didn't want anyone to know her address. I didn't understand why back then, but I understand now. Hopefully she'll be here soon,"

Toby looked outside the window and saw someone shady walk to the shop. "Beadle's on his way here," he said.

"What is he doing here," Todd said with rage.

In no time, Beadle walked through the door with a sullen look on his face and said, "Hello everyone. How are you all today?"

"Good, Mr. Bamford. Not to be rude, but why are you here," Mrs. Lovett said.

"I'm here because Ms. Annabel Lee hasn't shown up for work today,"

"Didn't she tell you that we are having a little picnic today?"

"No, I don't think she did. She must have had other things on her mind," he said, avoiding the truth.

"Well, she is going to be with us today, that is if she gets here,"

"Oh, she isn't here either? Would you like me to get her for you? All I would need is her address,"

"She'll be fine on her own, but even I accepted your offer, I wouldn't be able to tell you where she lived."

"Why not?"

"We don't _know_ where she lives. She never told us since she said she wanted to learn how to protect herself by walking home alone."

"Well then, I guess I should be heading to my other duties. Thank you and farewell," he said hesitantly as he headed out the door. They all took a deep breath and waited for her to show up.

Eventually, Annabel came in slowly. She was a mess. She was still wearing the dress from last night and her hair and makeup was messed up. She had her hand by her head, trying to calm down a headache.

"Where on earth have you been?" Sweeney Todd asked with rage.

"I'm sorry, but I had a long night," she said weakly. She was obviously tired, which made him suspicious. "We're already late, so we should go now."

* * *

They arrived to a sunny meadow, or at least sunny in London's standards, and set a blanket down on the ground for the picnic. Toby took out his kite and started flying it with Annabel teaching him how to control it. Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett sat on the blanket, discussing their future. "We should use our profits to improve the place. Customers always love when things are new and fresh and it'll attract more of them. Mr. T? Are you listening to me?"

Sweeney Todd was lost in his thoughts again. "There must be a way to kill the judge. Annabel's plan is taking too long for my liking."

"There you go again about killing the fucking judge. Can we have one day without you thinking about slitting his throat," she said with annoyance.

"Not until he's dead."

"Well I wish you could stop some time. If our business is as good as it is now, in a year or so, we could go live somewhere by the sea. We'll be so happy with the beautiful weather and a nice house by the beach. Just you and me."

"What about Annabel and Toby?"

"Oh they could move in too, but I don't Annabel would want to live in the same house as us. It wouldn't be safe to be around her since she is a cannibal, after all. I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up and find myself in an oven," she said jokingly, but checked to see if Annabel was listening just in case.

"She told you before she won't eat us and she's in control of her bloodlust. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"But if we all live together, where is she going to get her meat? Fish? Seagulls?"

"She's not a vampire. She can eat other things other than people like we can live without eating any other meat. We will be fine," he said almost fiercely. He didn't like when Mrs. Lovett talked badly about Annabel, but he didn't know why she did. Was she jealous? She doesn't know about their relationship, but she has been suspicious.

"Well, if you don't mind. I'm going to take a quick nap," she said as she rested on the blanket and closed her eyes.

In a few minutes, Annabel walked to the blanket right next to Sweeney Todd. "I think Toby's got the hang of kite flying," she said. She checked on Mrs. Lovett and saw that she was asleep with her quiet snoring. "How are you today, my love," she said as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Fine, but I'm worried about you. You've been a little distant today. What happened last night," he said worriedly.

"Nothing happened. Don't worry. I just had a little too much to drink when I got home,"

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe. You had me worried that Turpin kidnapped you. I want you by my side forever," he said as he pushed back her hair to kiss her neck, but he saw a red spot. "Is that a hickey?" She pulled away from him and quickly covered her neck with her hand. "Did he . . . Did he do that to you?" Todd said with anger building inside him.

"It's not what you think," she said frightened.

"Then what happened? Did he rape you?"

"No, he didn't . . . but he tried," she said as she scooted over closer to Todd. "Last night, he told me he loved me-,"

"That bastard! I'll kill him for laying a hand on you," he said with rage.

"Calm down please! He only kissed me!"

"But what about that hickey?! That's more than a kiss!"

"He did get a little too touchy, but he didn't . . . see anything. I would never do anything like that just to get him to come to the barbershop. I saw what he did to your wife all those years ago and I feared that the memory would become a reality with me taking her place. I love you and you alone," she said as she kissed him passionately. He embraced her, knowing that her feelings for him were true. Their tongues collided without any hesitation and he pushed her down towards the ground so that he was on top of her. Despite last night, she was willing to let him have his way with her.

"What's going on here," a female voice said. They both looked up and saw that Mrs. Lovett was awake and had a shocked look on her face. "I couldn't get any shut eye with you talking so loudly. . . . When were you two going to tell me that you're a couple?" They didn't respond, but quickly got up and straightened their clothing. "Well then, this makes things interesting,"

"Look how high my kite is!" Toby said in the distance. They all looked, but they didn't say anything due to the awkwardness in the air around them.

"It's amazing, Toby. How about we all eat our lunch," Mrs. Lovett finally said as she reached for the picnic basket. "I've got sandwiches for the three of us and meat pies for Annabel,"

"Thanks ma'am, but why does she get all meat pies," Toby asked curiously.

"Because I love her pies so much that I have to have them all to myself," Annabel said, trying to convince him not to eat one.

"You could at least share. I never had one of her meat pies,"

"Nope. I have to have them all. Sorry Toby," she said as innocently as she could.

After they ate their lunch, Mrs. Lovett said, "Annabel, would you like to have a little drinking contest with me,"

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," she said.

"Oh, are you scared that I'll beat you? I must warn you, I've had my binging days,"

"All right, but I assure you that I'll beat you,"

"Bring it," Mrs. Lovett said as she handed her a bottle of gin.

* * *

An hour later, Annabel, Sweeney Todd, and Toby were carrying Mrs. Lovett's passed out body to the pie shop. They both drank a bottle of gin each, but despite the large amount of alcohol, Annabel was only slightly drunk. She was happy and laughing throughout their journey back, but she didn't slur her words too much. When they arrived, they put her on the couch in the back room with as much care as they could without waking her up. Toby stayed in the room, hoping that she'll wake up soon, and Annabel and Sweeney came inside the pie shop. "How about we go somewhere more private?" Annabel said softly in his ear.

"Do you mean upstairs," he asked with a grin. He had an idea of what she meant.

"No, I mean somewhere we won't be disturbed. I want to . . . do things with you and I want to make sure we won't be interrupted."

"Well, my dear. That's pretty bold of you, but do you have an idea where you want to go," he asked. He couldn't tell if it was really her or the alcohol talking, but he wanted her either way.

"My house, my love. No one knows where I live, so I'm sure no will find us," she said with a giggle.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"Wait, before we go, we have to ask Toby to tell Mrs. Lovett a lie for us if she wakes up," she said quietly, but then comically yelled, "Toby, get over here boy!"

Toby ran out of the room and asked, "What, miss?"

"Mr. Todd and I are going out. I'll be at Judge Turpin's house for overtime and he's going to get supplies for his barbershop. If Mrs. Lovett wakes up, can you tell her that for us," she said. Todd looked at her with uncertainty. That lie seemed a bit farfetched.

"Of course, miss," he said as he went back into the room.

They walked some distance until they came by an old apartment building with about five floors and several dirty and broken windows on each floor. She directed him inside and walked up three flights of stairs to a long hallway. They walked to the room at the end of the hallway and she took out her keys from her pocket. She opened the door and inside was a very small room with curtains for doors. There was barely enough room for the two of them, but it wouldn't matter after a few drinks. "Would you like a drink?" Annabel asked.

"Sure, what do you have?" Todd said. She directed him to her liquor cabinet and he was surprised to see the vast amounts of alcohol in her possession. She had gin, vodka, wine, beer, ale, rum, whiskey, sherry, and so many other drinks and in large amounts. "Why do you have so much alcohol?"

"I'm a collector of bottles," she said with a chuckle. "That's the light-hearted version anyway." She grabbed a bottle of vodka and they walked to the couch. He then noticed four empty bottles on the table and he was suspicious.

"Did you drink all those?"

"I did last night. I had to forget somehow," she said nonchalantly. She poured him a shot and handed it over to him. He hesitated to drink it, but he saw that she poured herself a shot, quickly drank it, and poured herself another shot.

"How can you drink so much alcohol without getting too drunk? You drank a bottle of gin today, but you're only slightly drunk."

She sighed. "If you must know, I was an alcoholic."

"You were? How long?"

"I started drinking when I first learned that alcohol could help me forget, so that would be fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, it only made me forget for a short period of time, so I kept drinking more and more frequently, but it only made situations worse. About five years ago, I realized I had a problem and decided to change."

"But you still drink a lot. Today and last night prove you still have a problem."

"There's a difference between drinking a few shots a day and a few bottles a day," she said with slight anger.

* * *

After a couple of hours, Mrs. Lovett woke up with a massive headache. "Ugh, why did I have to drink so much?" She looked around and saw that no one was around and decided to walk out of the back room. She entered the pie shop and Toby was there, waiting for her.

"Oh good, you're awake. Mr. Todd and Ms. Lee have gone out," he repeated.

"Gone out?" she asked very disappointedly.

"Mr. Todd is going to get supplies for the shop,"

"Well, I guess that would make sense. What about Annabel?"

"She's at Judge Turpin's house to work 'overtime'," Toby said, not fully knowing what overtime meant.

She looked at him with a suspicious look. "She's at Turpin's house?"

"That's what she told me. I would never lie to you. If it weren't for you, I would be at the workhouse or someplace worse. You're a savior to me and I would do anything I could to protect you,"

"That's nice, dear," she said, still concerned by what he said.

"If there was someone that wasn't very nice and you didn't know it, I want to assure you that nothing's going to harm you, not while I'm around."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking a lot about Mr. Todd and Ms. Lee. I feel like they are hiding something very bad from you."

"I know Mr. T isn't hiding anything from me, but I'm not so sure about Annabel. Could you do me a favor, Toby?"

"Anything for you, ma'am,"

"Could you go to Judge Turpin's house and check if she's there. I feel like she might be lying to us."

"Yes, ma'am," Toby said as he rushed out the door.

Toby ran all the way to his house and knocked on the door. He waited for a few seconds and Beadle answered the door. "Hello, young lad. Aren't you that boy that works at the pie shop?"

"Yes I am, sir. I came here to ask if Ms. Annabel Lee is here,"

"Well, lad, she isn't here. I thought she was with you three for the rest of the day?" Beadle asked suspiciously.

"She said she was going to come here for 'overtime',"

"Well, she isn't here. Would you like to come in?"

"No, sir. I just wanted to check. Thank you, sir," Toby said as he rushed back to the pie shop. Beadle closed the door with a distraught look on his face.

He heard approaching footsteps and a voice that said, "Who was that?"

"He's just that boy from the pie shop," Beadle said, trying to hold back the truth.

"What did he want?"

"It was nothing. He was just checking if Ms. Lee was here," he said, trying to downplay the situation.

"She's not with them?" Turpin said with fear. After he found the vase underneath his bed, he feared that something bad happened to her or that she hit him in the head herself.

"Apparently not. The lad said that she told him that she would be here for overtime, but she hasn't come by,"

"Then they have seen her, that's good, but I want to make sure she's all right. Do you mind working all night to find her?"

"As long as we find her, I won't mind at all," he said as he got his walking cane and coat and summoned a carriage. Turpin put on his coat and looked at himself in the mirror. He still looked like a mess and to make matters worse, he still hasn't gotten a shave from anyone. At this point, he might as well be growing a beard. They went outside, entered the carriage, and rode off, hoping to find his beloved Annabel Lee.

* * *

After drinking the bottle of vodka, Sweeney Todd and Annabel were in each other arms and talked about random topics. "Do you remember what your wife looked like," she asked him.

He paused for a bit. Despite the years, he could remember her face perfectly, but if he told her, she would catch on. "She had yellow hair and was very beautiful."

"We could have a life together, you know. Maybe not like what you remember, but we can get by. We can get married and have a family. You can have the life you had before."

He chuckled. "You're planning way in advance, my dear. How many kids do you plan on us having?"

"Oh, don't be a tease. You know I'm drunk off my ass right now and things just slip out of my mouth, but two would be nice,"

"Boys or girls?"

"Both," she said sweetly. She reached out for the bottle to pour herself another shot, but the bottle was light. "Oh dear, it looks like we're out. I guess I'll get some more."

"Actually I'm in the mood for some sherry," he said. She smiled and headed for her cabinet. She pulled out some sherry and handed it to him. He poured them each a glass, they clanked glasses, and they drank it down. "This is sweet."

"Of course it is. It's sherry," she said with a giggle. She could tell he was getting drunk, but this is what she wanted. "So, when the judge is finally slain, what will you do? Would we stay in the business or go somewhere far away and start a new life?"

"I honestly don't know. I've always thought about killing that man, but life after that has never crossed my mind. I promise, though, that no matter what I decide to do, I'll make sure to bring you with me and live the life you want."

"As long as I am with you, I'll always be happy," she said. He leaned in for a kiss, but he tipped his glass and accidentally spilled it right on the bosom of her dress. "Oh dear!"

"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful," he said innocently, but he noticed where his sherry landed and started thinking impure thoughts about her.

"Oh, I guess it couldn't have been helped," she said as she put her glass on the table. She got up from the couch and looked at him with seductive eyes. "Would you mind helping me undress?"

"Of course, my dear," he said with pleasure. He got up and walked toward her. He put his hands on the buttons of her dress and removed each one painfully slow. He wanted to take his time just to see how much she really wanted him. "So, Judge Turpin bought you this dress?"

"Yes, but I wanted to take this damn thing off since last night, that is, if it wasn't for the alcohol," she said, almost begging for him to take it off as quickly as possible. He eventually took off the last button and the dress fell to the floor. He tried to look away, but he couldn't resist taking a peak. She was only wearing her sherry-soaked corset, petticoat, bloomers, and stockings, which really made him hard. "What are you staring at? You haven't seen a lady in her undergarments before?"

"Of course I have, but it's been an awfully long time. Is it wrong to admire a woman as beautiful as yourself?"

She blushed and gave an uncomfortable laugh. "Well Mr. Todd, would you like to see more?"

"In a moment," he said as he grabbed her and pushed her down on the couch. They locked eye contact and knew where this was going and they were going to love it. They kissed passionately with tongues exploiting each other's mouths with ease. She was in pleasure with the taste she was getting from him and he was happy to be with familiar beauty that he loved. After a minute or so, he pulled back, leaving her wanting more. "Where did he kiss you?"

"Todd, don't make me say it. I don't want to be reminded-," she said sadly, but was interrupted.

"Where did he kiss you," he asked more forcefully.

"On my neck," she said. He then put his lips close to her skin, but they didn't touch. All that touched her skin was his hot breath. She breathed hard and saw his teasing smile. "What are you waiting for? I want you to do it!"

"All right," he said in a sexy whisper as he placed his lips on her skin. She moaned with pleasure as the sensation was almost too much for her to handle. His tongue was tickling all of her sensitive spots and she wanted more. She bit her lip to hold back some moans, but it didn't matter since they slipped out anyway. She resisted the urge to bite him again to prevent any unwanted . . . bloodlust. "What else did he do to you?"

"He pushed me down on a bed, but that's it!" Annabel said with a breathy voice.

"Well then, let me take you there," Todd said as he picked up his lover in his arms and carried her to the bed. He pulled the curtain so that they wouldn't be disturbed and he carefully laid her down. He then got on top of her and continued to kiss her neck. She tried holding back the urge to bite him with all her might, no matter how much she wanted to. He then moved from her neck to her collarbone where he licked some of the sherry he spilled. "It's still sweet." He moved further down so he was now licking her cleavage and she was in ecstasy. "I wonder if it tastes sweeter underneath that corset." He tried to remove her corset, but she stopped him.

"Wait, before you do, I want to see you with no shirt on. You're still fully clothed," she said with a wicked grin. He let out a chuckle and did as he was told. He started unbuttoning his shirt and soon enough, he threw it on the floor, showing his toned muscles from all the work he had to do in Australia. She was amazed with his body. Although he didn't have a six-pack, he still had some muscles that she found very arousing. She sat up on the bed and put her finger on his chest and slightly caressed it to touch the man in front of her and make him moan. Sure enough, he did and she could feel something rise in his pants. She loved seeing the meat in front of her, maybe a little too much. She licked her lips, as if she saw a tasty meal, but she fought the urge. "Before we continue, there is something I need to tell you."

"What, my love?"

"I'm . . . I'm still a virgin," she said in embarrassment.

He looked at her with shock. "Really? I thought you were experienced, especially by the way you seduced me."

"Well, I always feared that if I was close enough to a body and I tasted that wonderful flavor, I might eat him."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No! I want you to fuck me!" Annabel said as she pushed him on the bed. She kissed him forcefully and he was forced to accept it.

He pushed her a little away from him and said, "Well, dearie. Now it's your turn to show me what's underneath that corset."

"Oh, you're so cruel, but I can't do it all by myself," she said. She lied on her stomach, showing him the knots that he needed to untie. With nimble fingers, he untied the knot on her corset and slowly pulled the string out of the holes. With each loop, he made sure that he caressed her back with his hand. With every touch, he made her arch her back with pleasure and she let out a soft moan. After a while, she joked, "I can breathe again." They both laughed, but eventually, the corset was off. She got up and she threw it on the floor, exposing her perfectly round breasts.

"They're beautiful!" Todd said as layer her down the bed to fondle them and after a while, he put his lips on the extra sensitive skin. Once they touched, she felt a new wave of pleasure go through her body. He licked the sherry off her breast and said, "Yep. It's definitely sweeter." He then put his mouth around an erect nipple and sucked on it. She breathed harder as he caressed her nipple with his tongue while the other hand was busy playing with the other.

"Sweeney! You're . . . amazing," she said in between moans. She has never experienced something this naughty before and she didn't want it to end. She felt his hand try to remove her petticoat, but he was having trouble. "Why don't you . . . just use . . . both of your hands."

He let go of her nipple and took her advice. He slowly pulled down her petticoat, making sure she was ready for him. All was left now was her bloomers and stockings. He quickly removed the bloomers and ripped the stockings so that there was nothing left covering her. She wasn't nervous at all; she wanted him to see her like this. She was all wet and waiting for him to take her virginity. "Well, you look more beautiful now than ever before," he said seductively.

"Hold on! I want to see you naked," she said.

He smiled as he lied down on the bed. "How about you do it for me?" She smiled wickedly and slowly pulled down his pants, revealing his rather large penis.

"It's so big!" Annabel said in amazement as she grabbed it. "How is this going to fit inside me?"

"If it can fit in your mouth, it will fit inside you," he said perversely. She looked at him with sexy eyes and put it inside her mouth. He moaned with ecstasy. "That's it!" She slowly moved her head up and down and he was in even more pleasure. He could feel her tongue caress him inside her mouth and it made him pant. For a virgin, she was pretty dam good at this. After a few minutes, she pulled out and he was left in a daze of pleasure.

"You taste delicious," she said devilishly.

"If I taste that good to you, why don't you put it back in your mouth?"

"I want it inside me now. If you're going to come, do it while you're fucking me." He violently grabbed her and pushed her down on the bed so he was on top again. He kicked off his trousers from his legs and he was completely naked. He moved down her body, leaving kisses on her skin. Eventually, his chest was close to her pussy and, without any warning, he slid his fingers inside her, making her arch her back. "Oh my god!" He slid his fingers in and out of her easily and she was panting like a dog.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Y-yes," she said in a weak voice. "But I want . . . something bigger . . . down there,"

"Are you sure? It might hurt," Todd said teasingly.

"Just . . . give it to me . . . already." Annabel begged. He obeyed her command and slid his body so that their sex organs were touching each other. They both gave out sighs and with a movement of his hips, he slowly pushed his length inside her. She gasped with pleasure and pain. Tears slowly rolled down her cheek as he pushed further into her.

"Are you all right?" Todd said lovingly. Despite all the teasing, he couldn't bear to know that he was hurting her.

"I'm all right. Just be gentle with me, okay?"

"All right," he said as he moved his hips slowly. The movements made her sigh and moan quietly, but he could tell she enjoyed it. "How do you feel?"

"G-Good," she said in a breathy voice.

"No pain?"

"No. Just naughty pleasure," she said sexily. Eventually, his speed increased and she was moaning and panting even louder to the point where she was almost screaming. This was exactly what she wanted to do ever since he first kissed her in the barbershop. After a while of pleasure, her muscles tightened as she felt something build up inside her. "Sweeney, I'm gonna-," she said, but she couldn't finish her sentence. His thrusts became more intense and he moaned even louder along with her. She felt something was going to release inside her and she could no longer contain it.

She came. She let out a mighty scream of her orgasmic pleasure as his love filled her inside. Out of breath, he laid on top of her as they both caught their breath. Sweeney Todd had not felt this pleasure for fifteen years and he was finally happy to make love to the woman he loved. "You were . . . amazing . . . for a virgin," he said.

"I'm no longer . . . a virgin . . . thanks to you," she said with a smile.

They lied in bed for a while. He lovingly cradled her into his arms, almost forgetting how much this meant to him all those years ago when he did the same for his wife. She was asleep; probably dreaming of their future ahead after Judge Turpin was dead. He stared at her sleeping face and thought to himself that he finally had his wife in his arms again. How he missed seeing this sight. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "I love you . . . Lucy."


	7. Truth

Knock knock. "Judge Turpin! It's time to wake up," a coachman's voice said through the door. Turpin slowly got up from his seat he had been laying on and stretched his arms while Beadle barely got up. His back ached from sleeping in the carriage, but he needed some shut eye if he wanted to stay alert. "Good morning, Beadle," he said with a yawn.

"Morning, sir," he said in a grouchy voice, "Did you sleep well?"

"I've had worse nights, but sleeping in my carriage was not very comfortable."

"Same here, sir. This wasn't where I thought I would rest my head. How are you today, especially after last night?"

"I'm better now, but we still need to find her. If I am to woo her, I need to know where she is."

"Understood sir, but where in the Lord's name are we?"

"We are in the slums of London, sir," the coachman said as he opened the door to greet the gentlemen. He was in his mid-twenties and had blonde hair and blue eyes. He could have charmed any girl with his good looks, but he made sure to hide them through his uniform. "Good morning Judge Turpin, Mr. Bamford."

"Hello, Wilbur. We are in the slums, you say?" Turpin asked.

"Yes. It's the only place in London we haven't looked. Please sit back and relax, gentleman. I'll have the carriage moving in no time," Wilbur said with a smile as he raced to his spot on top of the carriage.

As the carriage moved, Beadle noticed that Turpin was in distress, now that they were back on their mission to find Annabel. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Turpin sighed. "No. I feel like she has betrayed me. You heard what Mrs. Lovett said when we interrogated her! She kissed that barber, Sweeney Todd! I poured my heart out for her and she betrayed me. How am I supposed to feel?"

"I'm sorry, Judge Turpin, but once we find her, what will you do to her?"

"I would like to give her a punishment for lying to me, but I don't know if I have it in my heart to do it."

"Then how about I do it for you?"

"No, I demand that you do not touch her. This is between me and her,"

"Understood, sir."

After a few miles of searching, they finally saw a promising sign: Sweeney Todd leaving a building. "Stop the carriage!" Beadle yelled. Wilbur pulled the reigns and the horses stopped. They both looked and saw Sweeney Todd look toward a window, where Annabel was watching him leave. She was visibly wearing just a corset and a petticoat as she blew her lover a kiss. He "caught" it and started heading toward Fleet Street while she pulled back the curtain to finish changing. "That slut! He took her to his home and the first thing she does is sleep with him!" Beadle said in disgust, expecting Turpin to react, but he didn't say anything. He just looked in horror and unexpectedly got out of his carriage with Beadle following him quickly.

They went inside the old building where they saw an old man by the front desk. "Ah, Judge Turpin, I'm honored to see you in my building. What may I have the pleasure of doing for you," the old man asked with joy.

"Hello, sir. I'm looking for a girl by the name of Annabel Lee. Is she here by any chance?"

"Ms. Lee," the man said as he looked in his books for a name. "Ah, there she is. It looks like she's a little behind on rent, but she's been busy lately, so I understand. Why are you seeing her, may I ask?"

"It's a private matter," Beadle said.

"Oh, well then. Her room is on the third floor at the end of the hallway," the old man said as he showed them the stairs. "Have a nice day, gentlemen."

Turpin rushed for the stairs and was furious. How could she have done something like this to him? She will pay for what she's done.

* * *

"We didn't drink as much as I thought," she said to herself, holding the nearly full bottle of sherry, "I guess we really wanted each other so much that we didn't need to be drunk to have some fun." She cleaned up the empty bottles around her house after she finished dressing. After the night she had, she felt extremely happy. She finally expressed her love to Sweeney Todd through a very vulnerable act. To her, they tied a knot to their love without getting married, but she wished in her future that they would.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on her door. "Hold on a minute," she said as she took all the bottles and put them in a dark area of her closet. Knock knock. "Hold on!" She put away the sherry-stained dress in her closet and rushed to straighten herself up. Knock knock knock. "Are you ready for round two," she said as she opened the door, expecting Sweeney Todd, but was surprised to see someone else.

Turpin grabbed her suddenly and yelled, "How could you?!" She stared directly into his eyes and felt herself shaking. "Answer me!"

"I-I-," was all she could say. He felt her shake violently and she eventually fainted from absolute terror into his arms.

"She's faking it!" Beadle said. Turpin shook her to wake her up, but she stayed unresponsive. "I guess I was wrong, but she does know she's in big trouble with you."

"Let's take her home. We can question her there," he said, carrying her in his arms.

"Understood, sir, but if you don't mind, I would like to look around for any evidence of her infidelity," Beadle said. Turpin gave him a nod and carried her down the stairs. He brought her to his carriage and Wilbur opened the door for him.

"Is that the girl you've been looking for," he asked.

"Yes," Turpin said softly.

"What happened to her?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"She's quite beautiful," he said, but he received scolding eyes for his comment. "I'm sorry, sir. I spoke out of term,"

"Yes, you did," he said as he placed her on the seat next to him. She looked very peaceful with her sleeping face, but he couldn't admire her as much as he wanted to. He was furious with her, but he couldn't figure out what he was going to do to punish her.

* * *

Sweeney Todd finally arrived back to the shop, but before he entered, he saw two frantic figures: Mrs. Lovett and Toby. They had troubled look on their faces and paced back and forth, as if waiting for something. He entered the shop and their sullen faces turned happy. "Oh thank goodness you're here!" Mrs. Lovett said as she gave him a tight hug.

"What's going on," he asked as he pushed her away.

"You guys didn't come back last night. Annabel said you we're getting supplies and she was going to Judge Turpin's house, but she wasn't there," Toby explained.

"She didn't know what she was saying because she was drunk. I walked her home last night and stayed the night. She's fine."

"Well, I guess that there's nothing to worry about. Is she still home?" Mrs. Lovett asked.

"She was when I left. She might be on her way to Turpin's right now."

"Toby, would you mind leaving the room for a bit," she asked.

"No problem, ma'am," he said as he went to the back room and shut the door.

"You didn't, y'know . . . ,"

"No, she was too drunk. She fell asleep as her head rested on her bed."

"Are you sure? You were gone all night."

"I slept on the couch to make sure she was okay. I left while she was still asleep and headed straight here."

"All right. Well, we mustn't waste any more time. We've got customers to serve."

* * *

Annabel woke to find herself in an unfamiliar room. The sun was already an hour away from setting and she knew she was in big trouble. She quickly sat up on the bed and looked around; no sign of Turpin. She checked her clothes to see if there was anything missing or backwards, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't do anything to her, or at least, not yet. She took a more careful look around and saw she was in Johanna's room. She quickly got out of bed to open the window, thinking of jumping down, but it was too high for her to consider. She turned around and tried to open the door, but it was locked. "God dammit!"

"Oh, sir, she's awake," Beadle said through the door. She was frightened and heard footsteps approach the door. She slowly backed away as she heard a key slide into the doorknob and in entered her worst nightmare.

"Hello Annabel. I hope you had a good rest," Turpin said as Beadle closed the door behind him and locked the door. Once the door was locked, he grabbed her and yelled, "Why would you do this to me?!"

"What are you talking about?" Annabel asked in terror.

"You think you can get away that easily? I know that you slept with Sweeney Todd! How could you do something so cruel to me?!"

"I-I-I-," she stuttered. She couldn't think of any excuses that could get her out of this situation. "How do you know?"

"So you admit it?" Turpin said. She looked down, but she did nod. "That's what I thought."

"How did you know about-,"

"Why, your manager, Mrs. Lovett said she saw you two kissing on your day off," he said. Her face was of utter betrayal. "Judging by the way she said it, I could have assumed she loved your dear Mr. Todd and seeing you two together made her real angry."

"She . . . loves him?"

"Yes and she even said that if we found you, we can keep you for as long as we wanted."

"She said that . . . to get me out of the picture?"

"Without you, she can have him all to herself and I can have you to myself," he said. She still had a shocked face. "But enough about that; now answer me: why did you do it, especially when I told you at the ball that I loved you?"

"I-I thought you were just drunk. People say crazy things they don't mean when they're drunk."

"How dare you question my love for you," he said as he slapped her on the cheek. She winced in pain and cupped her red cheek.

"You have a funny way of showing it," she said with tears running down her cheeks. He looked at her and his eyes widened. What was he doing? This was the woman he loved with all his heart and he just caused her to cry. Sure, she deserved it, but he couldn't believe he would hurt her.

"I'm so sorry," he said sincerely, trying to get close to her, but she pulled back in fear.

"Really? Are you sure you don't want me to turn the other cheek for you," she barked.

"No, I mean it. I-I'll be right back," he said as he knocked on the door. "Beadle, let me out." In few seconds, they both heard the key slide in and Turpin left the room.

She knew she had to leave as soon as possible, but she didn't know what to do. She looked out the window again and thought about jumping, but she knew it would be suicide or pure luck if she fell with her life. There was nothing she could do to escape. In a few minutes, the door opened again and he came in with a bottle of wine. "You think I'm going to forgive you with that," she said coldly.

"I'm not the person that needs forgiveness. You were the one who committed a sin."

"How? We're not married, so how did I commit adultery?"

"It might as well be with the way my heart aches. Since I know how much you love alcohol, especially after seeing your little collection of bottles in your room, I thought you and I could have a drink together."

"No thank you. I don't-,"

"Drink it!" Turpin yelled as he poured her a glass and forcefully handed it to her. She feared he put some drug in the drink, but after she saw that he drank the same wine, she nervously took a sip. After they finished their drinks, he said, "Where did he touch you?"

"What?" Annabel said with wide eyes, nearly choking on her drink.

"Where did he touch you," he asked as he got closer to her. She moved away from him, but she was cornered. As soon as her back touched the wall, he put his arms on either side of her so she couldn't escape. "Did he touch you here," he said as he kissed her neck.

"S-S-Stop!"

"It's too late for that. This is your punishment," he said as he continued. She tried pushing him back, but he was too strong. He then put his arms around her hips to feel her curves and she desperately tried to shake them off, but he held his grip on her.

"If you love me, you wouldn't do this!"

"My dear, you hurt me first. It's only fair I do this to you," he said as he tried to unbutton her dress. She tried pushing her whole body to the wall with a might to hurt his hands, but it didn't work. Slowly, he unbuttoned her dress and forcefully pulled it off her.

"Stop! Please! I'm sorry!" Annabel said as she tears crept into her eyes.

"Now you're sorry?" Turpin said as he pushed her on the bed. "If you said that in the first place, this might have not happened." He got on top of her and she tried pushing off, but her fear took away all her strength. She couldn't even bite him because she feared she didn't have enough strength to tear off his skin. "Just relax and I assure you this will all be over soon."

* * *

"Why isn't she here?" Sweeney said to himself in his barbershop. Through his window, he checked if she came back from Turpin's, which was usually some time after five, but it's already closing time and she wasn't here.

Suddenly, Mrs. Lovett came inside the shop and said, "That damn girl is late again. I had to grind the bodies myself."

"This isn't normal. If she was there, why would she stay this long? Something's happened to her!"

"This is coming from the man who said she was strong enough to handle herself," she said mockingly. She looked at her coldly and she looked at him straight in the eye.

"I'm going to look for her," he said as he headed for the coat rack to get his coat.

"I'm sure that's not a good idea. What if she is with Turpin? How are you going to react?"

"With a swift razor to his neck!" Todd said, checking the window one more time and saw someone come toward the shop. "Annabel?" Mrs. Lovett's eyes widened with surprise as he headed out the room and down the stairs to go to her. "Annabel! I was worried-," he said, but stopped when he saw that she was in tears. "What happened?"

"Turpin! He . . . he-," she said, but couldn't finish.

"Let's go upstairs, out of sight," he said as he gently guided her up. They both entered the room and Mrs. Lovett acted all worried about her.

"What happened to you, love," she asked, but Annabel gave her a hateful look.

"Turpin . . . raped me. He saw you leave my building and knew where I lived. He took me back to his home and-," she said as she cried in his arms.

"That bastard! How dare he hurt you?! I'll make sure his death is far from quick as the others. I'll make him pay for hurting you!"

"Could you give me and Mrs. Lovett some time alone? There's something I need to tell her," she said weakly.

"Of course," he said as he left the room.

When they were alone, Annabel said, "I know you had something to do with this!"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Mrs. Lovett said innocently.

"Don't lie to me! You told him everything: our kiss and our night alone. He searched all night for me so he could have me all to himself for as long as he wanted so you could have Sweeney Todd!"

"What? I don't know what he told you, but I assure you that's not true."

"It all makes sense. You were jealous of our love and wanted me gone. How could you? I trusted you with my life for fifteen years and suddenly, you turn on me?"

She looked away and gave a sigh. "All right, I'll admit it. Yes, I'm jealous of you two because I love Sweeney Todd for far longer than you ever have. Even before he was taken away, I loved him. If it wasn't for his wife and child, we would have been together."

"I knew it, but why haven't you told me or him. If I would have known, I would have backed away."

"How would I know? Maybe you would have eaten me so you could have him all to yourself."

"You were my friend, Mrs. Lovett! I would have never done that to you, but I know now that you would do something like that to me. So, did you poison his wife so if he came back, he was all yours?"

"No, I didn't poison her! She did it herself."

"How do I know for sure?"

"Because she's-," Mrs. Lovett started saying, but Sweeney came back up.

"Beadle is downstairs, waiting for you," he said to Mrs. Lovett.

"Why?"

"He says he's here for official business," he said as he looked at Annabel. "Go hide in the trunk. I will get him up here so he can meet his fate." She did as she was told and she hid inside the trunk where Pirelli's body was so many nights ago. They both headed downstairs and she could hear noises of them talking, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming upstairs and made sure she was quiet.

The door opened and in came both Sweeney and Beadle. "So, what was the aroma you wanted to show me, Mr. Todd?"

"Let me find it first. It's somewhere in here," he said, going through a drawer full of colognes. She was in so much rage that she couldn't sit there and wait for his death. She quietly got out of the trunk while he was distracted and approached him.

Beadle turned around and screamed, "Annabel?! What are you doing here?" She pushed him down into the seat and made sure he wasn't going to escape. "I thought you were with Judge Turpin!"

"Oh I was, but now I want my fucking revenge. You helped that rapist for so long and didn't stop him with his conquests. Instead, you help him by getting them drunk and helpless against him. How fucking dare you!"

"Annabel, I said I was going to take care of him," Todd said with a razor in his hand.

"You can kill Turpin, but let me have this one! It's only fair after everything I and your wife have been through!"

"Your wife? The only other woman he had was Mr. Benjamin Barker's wife," he said as he looked at the man. He finally recognized him. "Wait, you're Mr. Baker?"

"The one and only and I'm afraid that you know my little secret, you'll have to die," he said as he handed the razor to her, but she declined it.

"I don't need that. I have a better way of killing him," she said as she bit his neck off, tearing the skin and arteries off him. She carefully pulled away to avoid blood on her dress and Beadle put pressure his neck in a hopeless effort of survival. "You know, I don't usually like raw meat, but for you, I'll make an exception," she said as she saw his life disappear in his eyes. She smiled as she ate the piece she bit off and he pushed the lever to send him down.

Mrs. Lovett came in the room quickly and yelled, "Don't send him down!" She was too late as she saw the body slide down. "Toby's down there! He was going to the law to reveal our plan, but I locked him there so he wouldn't escape, but now he's got proof of our scheme."

"He won't escape," he said as he showed them the razor. "Annabel, you stay up here and if Turpin comes, distract him until I get back."

"Are you sure," she asked feebly.

"Yes, my dear. I will come up quickly and kill him before he can hurt you again. I promise nothing will harm you ever again," he said as he kissed her forehead and headed down.

After a few moments of silence, she heard footsteps and was alert, but she heard more footsteps than usual. Suddenly, Antony and Johanna, dressed as a boy, came in. "Mr. Todd," he came in yelling, but he saw Annabel instead. "Oh good. Where's Mr. Todd?"

"He's downstairs, but I wouldn't recommend trying to find him. He's a little on edge today."

"Sure. Would you mind watching Johanna? I'm going to get a coach and will return in less than half an hour."

"Of course," she said.

Antony turned towards Johanna and said, "Wait here for me. I'll be back as soon as I can and we'll be safe. Don't worry."

"Safe? So we run away and all our dreams come true?"

"I hope so. Trust me, the ghosts of this place will go away as soon as we leave."

"No, they never go away."

"I'll be back to you in less than half an hour. I promise," he said as he quickly left. They stood in silence as Johanna looked around the room. Annabel realized that this was the last room where she was together with her family before Judge Turpin took them away. She looked at the picture of her mother and Johanna as a baby and thought nothing of it other than it was Mr. Todd's family, which pained Annabel inside. She didn't know anything about her past, but she didn't want her to remember a past too painful to remember.

Suddenly, they heard a voice outside cry, "Beadle! Don't go hiding on me, I saw you."

"Quick, go in the trunk!" Annabel said. Johanna quickly did she was told as they both waited for the stranger to come in.

"Beadle," the beggar woman called as she got inside, but to no avail.

"Luciboker?" Annabel called out.

She turned and said, "Annabel! What a surprise to see you here, but where is Beadle?"

"Who?"

"Beadle! I've seen you with him multiple times, so don't going lying on me," she said in a worried tone. "Where is he?"

"He left some time ago,"

"No he didn't. I saw him come up, but he never came back down. What happened to him?"

"I don't know!" Annabel said, afraid she was going to get caught.

"Beadle deedle deedle dumpling! Be-deedle deedle deedle deedle."

"Luciboker?" Annabel asked with slight terror of her insanity.

"Be-deedle deedle deedle deedle deedle deedle deedle deedle,"

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Sweeney Todd asked in a villainous tone. They both turned in fright.

"Evil is here, sir! She's the devil's wife!" Luciboker said.

He thought he was addressing Annabel and said while pulling her close, "No, she's a kind woman who has only been shown nothing, but pain."

"No, not her. I mean the other one. Beware her, sir! She has no pity in her heart!" Luciboker said as she looked up at him. "Hey, don't I know you, mister?"

"Mr. Todd," a voice yelled in the distance. It was Judge Turpin. Annabel was frightened and Todd, pressured by the impending fate, slit her throat and stepped on the lever, sending her down to the basement. She looked in fear. She thought she didn't need to be killed, but instead sent away. Did she recognize him from the past?

Annabel looked to him and said, "I have an idea, but please forgive me when we're done."

They heard footsteps approaching and she his herself behind the trunk. "Where is she?" Turpin yelled, but he saw her with him and was furious. "How could you go back to him?"

"Please let me explain!"

"No, I'll have you arrested and sent far, far away to separate you two," he said, advancing toward Sweeney.

"No! Judge Turpin, don't! I love you!" Annabel said as she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Both men looked at her with surprise.

"Could you repeat that?" Turpin asked.

"I . . . I love you."

"How do I know you're not lying to save him?"

"Why would I say it in front of you both? Judge Turpin, my feelings for you are true. I love you," she said as she walked to him and kissed him. He embraced her as Todd looked at them in disgust. This is what Turpin wanted since he saw her out his window.

"I don't understand. Why would you do this to me?"

"I only came to him to tell him that we were done. I finally know that you love me too."

"How long have you loved me?"

"I don't know when exactly, but it was sometime after I asked you for forgiveness. You were so compassionate towards me and I grew feelings. When we kissed for the first time, I knew in my heart that I loved you, but I avoided you all day to avoid any awkwardness between us," she said as she took a quick glance at a very angry Sweeney Todd. "At the masquerade ball, I feared your love wasn't real since you were drunk and I fled with a heavy heart."

"What about the vase? Did you hit me in the head with it?"

"No, sir! I accidentally bumped into it and it fell. I was scared you would get angry and hid it underneath the bed. Anyway, the only reason why I was in a relationship with Mr. Todd was that I feared I would never get your love, but tonight you proved it. You do love me, but I wish you would have let me explain then so our love making wouldn't have been as uncomfortable as it was."

"I'm sorry," he said as he hugged her. "I wanted you to enjoy it, but I treated it more like a punishment than sex."

"You don't need to apologize. I shouldn't have lied to you," she said, "I want to get married tomorrow morning."

"What?" Turpin asked in surprise. Sweeney eyes widened as well.

"I want to marry you! If our love for each other is true, I want it to be shown under God's eyes and as soon as possible. Tomorrow seems like a good day,"

"Of course we can," he said as he kissed her again. He looked to Todd and said, "Sorry it had to end like this, Mr. Todd."

"All I can say is congratulations to the both of you. How about a shave so you look good for big day?" Sweeney said.

"Of course," he said as he was directed by Todd to the chair. Annabel watched, sitting on the trunk, so Johanna wouldn't be discovered.

"She's very pretty, isn't she?" Todd said as he prepared him for the "shave".

"Yes she is and I'm glad to soon call her my wife," he said as Annabel gave him a cute smile.

"Pretty women are a wonder, aren't they, but they are also dangerous."

"They can be," he said, not fully knowing what he was implying.

"We have similar taste in women, sir, right Annabel," Todd asked.

"Yes, you two do," Annabel said with slight villainy in her voice.

"But she's not the only one, sir,"

"What's that?" Turpin asked.

"The years have changed me, sir, but I doubt a face of a barber on the prison dock is not very memorable."

Turpin looked at him with confusion, but he finally understood what he meant. "Benjamin Barker!"

"Benjamin Barker!" Todd yelled as he stabbed the razor into his neck with blood pouring out anywhere. Turpin was trying his best to breath, but the countless stabs to the neck prevented him. As a bloody Todd walked to his other side, he noticed that she was in utter glee that he was dying.

She walked up to him and whispered into his ear, "You thought after everything you've done I would love you? I hated you with all my heart ever since the day you killed my parents. I never intended to change when I came to you; I was just waiting for this moment." She took the razor from his hand and sliced his throat, spilling out all the remaining blood in him. He stepped on the lever and Turpin's body fell to the hell below.

"Rest now, my friend," Todd said to his razor as he placed it on the seat. "You did the job." He then looked at her and said, "We did it! I got revenge for you, Lucy!"

Her smile soon turned to a frown. "Lucy?"

They then heard a noise from the trunk and looked to find Johanna peeping through. He grabbed the razor and headed to the trunk. He opened it and said, "Come for a shave, lad?"

"No, I-," the "boy" said, but he dragged her out and placed her on the chair, without knowing who see really was.

"Everyone deserves a good shave," he said as he placed the razor to kill her, but Annabel stopped him.

"Stop! Don't do it! It's-," she started saying, but they heard Mrs. Lovett scream from down below.

Sweeney put the razor close to her and threatened, "Forget my face." He pulled away the razor and left the room. The women stared at each other, but Annabel rushed after him without saying a word.

* * *

They both arrived downstairs quickly and Todd asked, "Why did you scream?"

"Turpin caught on to my dress, but he's fully dead now," Mrs. Lovett said as she was pulling a body close to the oven.

"I'll take care of it. Open the door," he said as he pushed her to the oven door. "Annabel, grab the others. We are not to leave any trace." She grabbed onto Beadle's body and pulled it towards the oven. Mrs. Lovett opened the door, letting light shine on the bodies. Todd looked down to carry a body, but stopped when he thought he saw a familiar face. He knelt down to brush away the yellow hair and moved her so he could see her face. Mrs. Lovett looked with nervousness while Annabel looked with confusion, but later realized what was going on. "'Don't I know you,' she said. You knew she lived. You lied to me," he said to Mrs. Lovett.

"No, I didn't lie. She did take the poison, but I didn't say she died," she said, trying to make it seem she wasn't the bad guy.

"Lucy," he said. Annabel looked and realized that Luciboker, the old beggar woman, was Lucy Barker this whole time.

"Oh my god!" she said.

"Poor thing, she lived, but it left her weak in the head. She should have been in Bedlam. It would have been better if you thought she was dead," Mrs. Lovett said.

"What have I done?" Sweeney yelled.

"I only lied because I loved you. I would have been twice the wife she was. How could that thing care for you like I have when you returned? She wouldn't, that's how,"

"Mrs. Lovett, you're a bloody wonder and yet appropriate as always. As you've said before: what is there to dwell on the past? Now come here, my love."

"How, when you went to her look-alike," she said as she addressed Annabel. She looked in shock. Everything was making sense in her head, but her heart didn't want to believe it.

"She said she loved Judge Turpin and she's dead to me. I offered her a choice to leave my sight or die, that is, after we dispose of the bodies. It will just be the two of us from now on."

"Do you mean it? Everything I did, I swear, I thought was only for the best."

"There's nothing to fear. The past is in the past," he said as he took her hands and started dancing in celebration.

"Oh, Mr. Todd! Leave it to me. We can live somewhere by the sea where there won't be anyone to disturb us."

"It's best to learn to forgive and try to forget. Life is for the living and we should be living it!" Todd said as he pushed her into the oven. They both heard her screams and Annabel thought of helping, but she knew she deserved it. Todd looked at her burning body coldly as he locked the oven door, preventing her escape and leading to her death. He looked back at his dead wife and dropped the razor to the floor so he could cradle her into his arms. "There was a barber and his wife and she was beautiful," he said to her, ignoring Annabel.

"Sweeney Todd?"

"Leave me," he said coldly to her. She tried heading out, but before she did, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left.

She walked through the door, patiently waiting for him to come out, but she feared that there might be a chance that he wouldn't. Her heart was aching. She finally realized that he only loved her because she looked like his wife and it pained her deeply. She tried denying it, but she knew she was correct when he called her Lucy. Now, he can never have her back because Mrs. Lovett lied to him. He was so close to getting his family back, but now, he'll never have them again. He killed his wife and Johanna would be appalled if she learned that the man who tried to kill her was her father. She thought it was best if they were separated, but she had to tell Todd about Johanna to avoid any more tragedy.

Suddenly, she heard the door open and she hoped to see Sweeney, but was shocked to see Toby. "I'm going to go to police to tell them everything you guys have done! The murders! The pies filled with human meat! The barbershop! You'll go to jail for your crimes and will hang," he said.

"What about Sweeney Todd," she asked, not fearing for her life, but Toby only left, dropping the bloody razor. She picked it up and feared the worst. She quickly rushed downstairs and was horrified to see what happened. "NO!" She ran to him and saw that his throat was slit. "You promised nothing bad would happen after he died!" Tears rolled down her cheek like a waterfall and she hugged him one last time. She saw that he was still cradling his wife and decided to lie them down on the ground with their hands holding each other's. She gave him one last kiss on the cheek and then left their side.

She went upstairs to the barbershop one last time and looked around. Turpin's blood was all over the place and it made her feel bittersweet. She walked to the chair and saw something shine in her eyes. She looked up and saw the open box with the other razors inside. She cleaned the blood off the razor she had in her hand with her dress and put it back with the others. She thought of leaving them behind, but they seemed to be calling her name because she went back to them. She admired their beauty and how they shined in the moonlight. "These are my friends," she said to herself as she closed the box and took the razors with her.


	8. Finale

Annabel was sitting on the beach with the water almost reaching her feet. She had never feared Toby before, but after seeing what he did to Sweeney Todd, she had to get away from him. For years, the police never scared her. If anything, they filled her with rage, but Toby filled her with fear in less than five minutes. He was going to tell the police of what they've done: Sweeney killing his customers, Mrs. Lovett putting them into her pies, Annabel eating a lot of her pies, and finally, the last time that all three of them were alive. Now, it was just her and it saddened her, but maybe for different reasons.

"Hello, miss. Are you all right," a voice said. Annabel looked up quickly and saw a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore plain clothing, so he wasn't a noble or a beggar, much to her relief. "Hey, don't I know you?"

"No, I don't think I do."

"I'm pretty sure I know you," he says as he sat next to her and examined her face closely. Eventually, he snapped his fingers. "That's it! You're Annabel Lee."

"How . . . How do you know my name?" Annabel asked curiously.

"I remember Judge Turpin carrying you into his carriage yesterday morning. How could I forget a face like yours? You had such a peaceful sleeping face."

"Oh, I did? How did you see me and . . . him?"

"I'm his personal coachman," he said. Her eyes widened with surprise, but it took every ounce of her body to prevent a furious face. "He searched all night for you. We were lucky that we saw a man leave your building. I think he's the famous barber of Fleet Street. Was he your lover?"

"No. He was just a good friend. He stayed the night because he wanted to make sure I came home safely after a day of drinking. Turpin took it the wrong way and didn't let me explain."

"What happened after we took you home?"

She looked at him with anger in her eyes. "Home? You mean hell. That bastard . . . -," she said, but stopped herself. "He didn't let me explain, so it became an ugly situation."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I never trusted the guy or his lackey anyway. They were shady people, especially since he kept talking about you nonstop, talking about your beauty and the lust he had for you. Even when you were asleep, he kept talking to Mr. Bamford about how he was going to punish you for betraying him."

"I didn't betray anyone, but how do you know that?"

"The walls surrounding the carriage aren't soundproof. If they're loud enough, I can hear their conversations clearly and they have many stories to tell. If anyone else knew about their sins, they would have been in prison for years if not executed. Today was the day that I decided to quit."

"Good for you."

"What about you? You're a maid of his. Are you going to continue working for him?" Wilbur asked.

"No, I told him I didn't want to work for him anymore, especially after yesterday. Unfortunately, I lost my other job too, so I'm in need of one."

"Well, I'm going to America to work in my father's woodcarving shop. Would you like a job there?"

She looked at him with shocked eyes. "You don't even know me and you're willing to give me a job?"

"Why not? I fear that if you don't find a job soon, you'll go into prostitution. Plus, America is the land of opportunity! Any man with a dream can see it come true there."

"That sounds great. When do you plan on leaving?" Annabel asked with enthusiasm.

"I plan on leaving tomorrow. I'll meet you at the London harbor at noon. We'll board a ship and be off," he said as he got up from the sandy ground.

"All right then, I'll see you there. I must tell you that I've never traveled outside of London before," she said.

"I assure you that you'll love America, especially where we're going,"

"Where would that be?"

"Coney Island. It's the land of entertainment! There's a massive carnival that has all these sideshows with freaks and performers. Also, there's a theater called the Fantôme Theater where the manager is kept in the shadows and wears a mask. It has been up for nine years now and it is very successful. We should watch a show while we're there."

"We should! I have to pack for this new chapter in my life. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"All right. Bye," Wilbur said as he left her side.

Annabel stood there and her smile vanished. "Who the fuck does he think he is? A guy doesn't ask a stranger girl to run away with him, especially when he doesn't know anything about her." She headed home and after walking several blocks, she finally arrived to her home. She opened the door to her apartment and entered into her bittersweet memories. This was the place where she could finally make love to the man she loved, but it was also the place that Turpin took her away from and began the hell that happened last night. She looked at her liquor cabinet and some bottles were gone since she drank them last night. Now she had only a few bottles left. She slumped on her couch, debating if she should go to America with that idiot, Wilbur. Sure, she needed to escape just in case Toby kept his word and tell the police of their crimes, but she didn't want to be with anyone who was associated with Turpin.

Then, she saw the wooden box on the table that kept Sweeney Todd's razors. She opened the box and took out a shiny razor. Tears started creeping into her eyes as she saw how they glistened in the light. "You promised nothing bad would happen after Turpin died. I know you meant that for me, but I wish you kept your word," she said to the razor as if talking to Todd himself. She turned the razor and saw a dried blood drop on it. She stared at it a bit before cleaning it off with the skirt of her dress. "Maybe I should go with that idiot. I need to get away from this city or I'll be hunted down. Besides, America might not be that bad." She searched through her closet and found her rather large suitcase. She packed only a few dresses and packed everything else she needed for the journey. She quickly went to her liquor cabinet, took out the remaining bottles, and packed them carefully placed them in her suitcase.

Annabel looked around her apartment one last time for anything else she wanted to take with her and saw the box with the razors. She thought about leaving them behind to leave the memories behind, but for some reason, she couldn't. She grabbed the box and took out a bottle of gin to fit it in the suitcase. After she finished packing, she fell on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "I'll find a way to honor you, Sweeney Todd. I'll find a way."

* * *

Wilbur waited patiently for Annabel. It was fifteen minutes to noon and most of the people have boarded the passenger ship already. He was about to give up on her and board the ship, but he saw a figure in the distance run toward the ship with a suitcase at hand. He squinted his eyes and saw it was Annabel. As she got closer, he said, "I'm glad you made it. I was afraid you changed your mind."

"I wouldn't dream of it. This is a dream come true for me to go to America," she said as she finally reached him, "Besides, London is full of painful memories I would like to forget."

"I understand. Now, may I help you board the ship, miss?"

"Oh, you're such a gentleman," she said as she took his hand. They carried their luggage, got their tickets, and headed for the ship that would take them to Coney Island.

They arrived in their stateroom and it was very small, even smaller than her apartment. There was a small circular window that they could have seen the ocean from, but it was out of reach. There was only one dresser for both of their clothing, but what worried Annabel was that there was only one bed. They set their suitcases on the bed and took out some clothing to put in the dresser; one drawer for each person. "This is an awfully small room for the two of us," Annabel said.

"It is, but I didn't have enough money to get us a first class room. My father gave me only enough money to buy the ticket and rent for my new home," Wilbur said, sensing her uneasiness, "I hope you don't get seasick. I would hate to see you vomit into the sea."

"Well, I've never been on a boat, so let's see," she said with a playful smile, "How long will we be on this boat?"

"Only for three weeks."

"That's pretty fast! I can't wait until we get there!"

"Me either, Annabel, but until then, enjoy the boat ride."

"I will!" Annabel said with excitement.

For the duration of the ride, Wilbur and Annabel did everything together, like a couple would, but every time someone asked if they were a couple, she would say no, despite him looking sullen every time she said no. One day, while they were eating in the mess hall, Wilbur asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you want to leave London so badly? I know you said it was full of painful memories, but it has only made me more curious."

She was silent for a while, but then said, "I had a lover who ran a barbershop, but not Sweeney Todd. He was the love of my life and I was his. At first, I was only working in his barbershop, but I needed more money to pay for my apartment, so I asked Judge Turpin for help and he was willing to help me. Everything was running smoothly . . . until the masquerade ball."

"I was there as well. Did you see me?"

"No, what were you wearing?"

"Well, it wasn't much, but I was wearing a pig costume. However, I talked to Mr. Bamford and he said he was trying to get a girl in bed with Judge Turpin. Was that girl you?"

"Yes, but I couldn't do it. I was in love with someone else! How could I betray my love for a man that I didn't love? Anyway, things turned ugly and after I was . . . with Turpin, I ran to his barbershop and my lover was dead."

"I'm so sorry," he said as he gave her a hug that she was surprisingly willing to accept, "How did he die?"

"His throat was slit."

"Do you know who did it?"

"No. I want to say Turpin did it out of jealousy, but he thought Sweeney Todd was my lover, so I don't think it was him."

"What about Sweeney Todd? Maybe he killed him because he was in competition with him."

"He would never do that! I know Sweeney Todd and he wouldn't kill anyone. He was a good man," she yelled, defending the man she loved.

"It was just a theory, Annabel. Calm down. . . . I guess that's a good enough reason to leave."

"So . . . Coney Island is a good place, especially with this Fantôme Theater?" Annabel asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yes. I visited it last year when I visited my father. It was extraordinary! I hear it was inspired by an opera house in Paris, but instead of operas, the theater presents shows that I think people call 'musicals'. Instead of singing throughout the show, there is dialogue in between songs and extravagant dancing. It has changed my perspective on theater."

"That sounds interesting. I can't wait to see one of the shows. Maybe we can meet the manager herself!"

"You're being a little ambitious. The manager is in the shadows, remember? Even if you manage to find her, what would you say?"

"I don't know. Let me see one of the shows and I'll figure out from there."

* * *

The day finally arrived when they reached their destination: Coney Island. Annabel was in childish glee as she saw all the things around them. The carnival was huge; there was a Ferris wheel, roller coasters, and other rides she wanted to try. She also saw the sideshows with people with deformities or odd abilities showing off their talents. Finally, she saw the luxurious Fantôme Theater. With her suitcase at hand, she ran to it, almost leaving Wilbur behind. "Hey, wait a minute," he yelled, but she didn't seem to hear him. She reached the doors and looked at the billboard.

"The next show isn't until tonight at seven. Dammit! I was so excited," Annabel said with a disappointed face.

"It's not like it's a long time. It's 4:15 right now. We'll come back when it's time," Wilbur said as he put his hand on her shoulder, "So, do you want to meet my father and see his woodcarving shop?"

"I'm a little tired from the ship ride. Can we wait until tomorrow," she asked sweetly.

"O-of course. We are a day earlier than I told my father. I guess we can wait a day," he said hesitantly.

They arrived to a home that was close to the theater. It was small, but enough for one person. It was a red, two-story house with black trim. They went inside and saw it didn't have much decor inside. All that was inside was furniture someone might have left when they moved. They went upstairs and Wilbur showed Annabel to her room. All that was in there was a small bed with dusty brown sheets and a dust covered dresser. She put the suitcase on the bed and dust flew up towards her. She waved her hand to redirect the dust and continued to unpack. She put the bottles on the dresser and put her clothing in the drawers, but when she pulled out the box, she was careful to hide it in her drawer, but kept one razor out and put it in her purse.

"How are you settling in?" Wilbur said as he entered her room.

"It's a little dusty in here, but I'll be fine. Thank you again for letting me stay here . . . temporarily."

"You're welcome, but you can stay here for as long as you need to."

"Thank you," she said as she gave him a hug. He saw the suitcase and noticed a familiar green dress resting on the bed.

"Are you wearing that tonight?"

"Oh, yes. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Y-yes it is, but if I remember correctly, isn't that the same dress you wore at the masquerade ball?"

"Yes it is, but it means a lot to me. Sure, it was made by a man that I hate, but it was also the dress I wore when I had a special moment with my love. How could I throw it away?"

"I guess you're right. I guess you can wear it now because I plan on taking you to dinner before we see the show."

"Oh, all right then. I'll be ready in twenty minutes."

* * *

After eating dinner in a nice restaurant inside the carnival, they arrived to the Fantôme Theater. Annabel was in utter glee as they bought their tickets and quickly found their seats. Since they were thirty minutes early, they got a seat in the front row on the mezzanine floor. The place was beautiful: the seats were velvet red, the building had black walls and gold trim, and on those walks were paintings of the greatest performers from all over the world. Two portraits, however, caught her eye. They were placed on either side of the stage and they were larger than the others. Each portrayed a famous violinist with little gold plates at the bottom with their name engraved on them: Gustavo Daaé and Giovanni Destler.

Suddenly, they saw a little nine year old girl run on stage and a woman following right behind her. "Diana! Please stop running around! You can't be on stage before a . . .-," the French woman said as she saw the two of them on the mezzanine floor. "Oh, I wasn't expecting people to arrive this early. I guess Monte let you guys in." The woman was wearing a red slim dress with long white gloves. She had long black hair and pale skin, probably from lack of sun, but what stood out most was that she was wearing a white mask that covered most of her face. She cleared her throat and said, "Welcome to the Fantôme Theater. I am Fantôme and prepare yourself for a show of love and loss, comedy and tragedy, music and dancing, and the most amazing entertainment you will see in your lives!"

"That sounds amazing. My name is Annabel Lee and I would like to know if I can meet after the show. You have such an interesting character."

"Oh, I'm afraid you can't. I'm a very busy woman, mademoiselle. You would be very lucky to find me," she said.

"Why are you so interested in meeting her? I mean, you wouldn't have known her if I didn't mention her," Wilbur said in a whisper to Annabel.

"She is a very interesting woman. Who else hides behind a mask? After all, Coney Island is a place of mystery and entertainment. I want to meet one of those mysteries," she answered.

"Well, while we wait for the rest of the audience to show up in about ten minutes, I'm going to take my little girl to our private box to watch the show," Fantôme said as she walked to the little girl named Diana, "Come along, darling. We should be on our way. You remember our box number, right?"

"Yes. Box 5, but I want to stay here a bit longer. One day, I want to be in one of your stories. You write such great stories," Diana said to her mother,

"Wait, you wrote the performance we are going to see," Wilbur asked loudly.

"Yes. I write all the shows. I have had much inspiration throughout the years. Tonight, I will show you a show that is close to my heart. It is my favorite out of all the performances; a piece I call Don Juan Triumphant," Fantôme said as she looked away with a sullen face, "It was the first one I ever wrote and I had an amazing male star in my debut showing. I wish he was around to see it, but the past is the past."

"Well, I can't wait to see it," Annabel said. Fantôme only gave her a smile as she directed Diana off the stage.

As more and more people came in, Annabel was in total joy. She was a little kid, as Wilbur put it. She couldn't sit still and whenever she did, she couldn't stop stating how excited she was. Only when the theater finally darkened did she finally calm down. The curtain parted and the music started playing. It was a new type of music that she never heard of and she loved it. She saw the characters come into place and finally the lead, Don Juan, came onto the stage, proclaiming that he has won over a girl who wears a mask to his colleagues at a bar. When the two are to meet, the lead girl, Aminta, is wearing a mask and Annabel soon discovers it was Fantôme playing the woman about to be seduced. As she sang, Annabel felt the emotion in her voice as if she was truly singing this to the man she loved. As the story progresses, Don Juan has fallen for Aminta, but he can't have her since he is betrothed to another, but it turns out she loved Don Juan too and can only reveal it to him the night before his wedding. In the end, he flees the altar to go with Aminta and they live happily ever. As the cast comes on stage for their final bow, Annabel stood up in a standing ovation as Fantôme appeared on stage.

After the show, while Wilbur waited to get drinks at the bar, Annabel snuck backstage to meet Fantôme. She managed to slip past the cast and arrived to an office. No one was in when she entered, so she looked around a bit. There were many posters and newspaper articles relating to the theater and Fantôme, but what caught her eye was an article about an opera star in Paris. The most interesting part of the article was what was highlighted: Christopher Daaé thanks his "Angel of Music" for the fame he has received. "What are you doing here," a sudden voice asked. Annabel quickly turned around and saw it was Fantôme. "Oh, it's you. Annabel, right? How did you enjoy the show?"

"It was lovely, especially when I learned you were the female lead! You have a lovely voice!"

Fantôme blushed and smile. "Thank you. I haven't heard that from an audience member in a long time."

"However, I feel like there is a deeper meaning behind than what was shown. Since you wrote it, I feel like Don Juan was an actual person in your life."

"Is that so? Well, tell me what else you learned while watching my show?"

"You, miss, are hiding a dark past," she said. As she said that, Fantome's face turned pale. "Don Juan wasn't the aggressor. He was the victim. What did you do to your Don Juan?"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about! You speak this gibberish without any evidence behind it," she said with a bit of fear in her voice.

"Don't lie to me. You did something horrid and that's why you fled. You came from Paris, yes? I can tell by your accent. You did something terrible and you hid your shame behind that mask. What did you do to make you leave?"

"I didn't do anything! This mask isn't for hiding a dark past!"

"Oh, then what is it hiding. Let me see that face," she said as she grabbed the mask off her face.

"No," Fantôme yelled as she quickly covered her face, but soon uncovered it to reveal her deformity," Is this what you wanted to see?!"

Annabel screamed as she saw her face. She had crevices within her face and her skin was coarse. She barely formed a nose and her eyes were surrounded by peeling skin. "Oh my god! What the fuck are you?! You're not human at all," she said as she fled the office.

"Get out and never return," Fantôme said as she began to cry.

Annabel went to the bathroom to take a deep breath to try to regain her composure after what she witnessed. She looked in the mirror and fixed her makeup before leaving and walking to Wilbur. She arrived to the bar and saw that he had a glass of gin waiting for her. "Good, I could use a drink right now," she said, unaware that he heard her.

"Why, what happened? Did you find her?"

"No. She was too busy or something and wasn't in her office. Such a pity though. I would have liked to meet her."

"Well, maybe next time," he said as he handed her glass.

* * *

After a few drinks, Wilbur was clearly drunk. He was slurring his words and was barely able to stand on his two feet. Annabel had to help him home from the theater. When they finally arrived, it was late at night. Not a single person was out on the streets. He searched in his pocket for the keys and she quickly grabbed something out of her purse. He finally opened the door and welcomed her in, but before he knew it, she grabbed a hold of his head and slit his throat. As he fell to his knees with blood quickly pouring out her throat, she quickly closed the door to avoid witnesses. When she walked back to him, she saw that he was dead on the floor with blood surrounding him. "You'll make a nice meal. I've been waiting to eat you all three weeks," she said to herself as she picked up his body and took him into the kitchen. With the knives he had, she sliced him up and cooked him in the oven; whatever meat was left was placed in an ice container for breakfast. After second dinner, she went to find a mop and cleaned the blood on the floor. When she was done, she quickly threw out the remains in the basement he showed her earlier. She saw the furnace and quickly put his remains into it to destroy any evidence. When she was done, she quickly headed upstairs to go to bed. She had a long day.

The next day, Annabel was woken by a knock on her door. She put on a robe and quickly ran down the stairs. As she opened the door, she saw an old man standing outside. "Oh, pardon me, miss. Is this not 37 Penny Street," the man asked.

"Yes it is. May I help you?"

"I'm here because my son, Wilbur Wallace, was supposed to arrive to America yesterday, but I didn't see him. This is the house he said he bought. Have you seen him?"

"Yes I have. Yesterday, he was in a rush, saying he was going to work somewhere in Virginia and needed to sell this house as soon as he could. I'm sorry he didn't say anything to you about it, but since you're here, would you like a shave? You've got some stubble on your cheek and I can fix that in no time."

"You're a barber?"

"Yes I am. I was taught by a great barber in London. Since you'll be my first customer in this establishment, I can give you a shave free of charge and all I ask of you is to spread the word about my business."

"Well, since it's free, I guess I can get a shave, but you look like you just got up from bed."

"Sorry, I just arrived last night. I'm a little tired from the trip from London. Please, come in," she said as she guided the man in. Lucky for Mr. Wallace, he survived her shave since she really needed him to spread the word about her barbering business. She gave him a nice shave that impressed him. He gave her the money for the shave anyway as tip and went back to his woodcarving shop to tell men about the new barber on Penny Street. With enough customers, Annabel Lee was able to fix up the place to become her new home and barbershop. With the razors in her hand, she felt like she could decide the fate of many men and once in a while, she'll slit the throat of a man that wouldn't be missed, eat him, and put his remains in the furnace. She had a respectable business that Sweeney Todd would have been proud of. Annabel Lee was the new demon barber of Coney Island.

* * *

_**The story may be over, but the questions remain. What will become of Annabel Lee? Who are her next victims? Who is Fantôme and why does she hide behind a mask? So many questions, but only you can answer them. **_

_**Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you enjoyed yourself. If you would like, tell me your answers to those questions and maybe a sequel will be written in the future. **_

_**See you then. PhantomGypsy13**_


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